If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.

At the Osgoode Employment Law Conference in December 2011, this is how lawyer Natalie MacDonald started her presentation on determining if a potential new hire is an employee or self-employed.

How do employers know the difference?

There are very good guidelines that help determine if an individual is an employee or self-employed. Sometimes companies pay employees on a short term contract without taking off any deductions. When  they ask a few questions, they find that the individual is really an employee and should have regular payroll deductions. Hopefully this type of situation is an oversight and not a standard process.  It puts the organization at risk for penalties and fines, but it costs the company so much more.

The Canadian Revenue Agency Guidelines  outline steps to determine if an individual is an employee or self-employed and a detailed account of the liability for not making deductions. Here is a quick check list to get you started:

Control – Does the boss direct the person and tell him/her what to do? If the person doesn’t have control over work hours, and work flow, he/she is likely an employee.

Tools and Equipment – Does the employer supply the person with a computer, and a phone at work to do his/her job? An employee is not responsible for bringing his/her own laptop to work.

Subcontracting and hiring assistants – Does the individual have the opportunity to hire or subcontract an assistant and pay them out of his/her own pocket? If not, the person is an employee.

Financial Risk – Does the individual have to pay for mistakes? If a mistake happens that has a negative financial impact, the self-employed contractor most likely will have to discount the project impacting his/her own bottomline, and an employee is not expected to reach into their pocket to pay for his/her mistake. 

Profit – Does the individual have the chance to profit?  An employee earns income and bonus as per the policies and parameters set by the company, but they don’t have potential for profit.

Responsibility for investment and management – Does the individual have a capital investment in the company and make management decisions freely? If not, he/she is an employee.

Some might weigh the chances that they won’t get caught. Some might argue that it’s easy to pay them as a self-employed professional.  But the risk is significant in more ways than one. Why? Because there is a risk to the organization of penalties, fines, and reimbursements as mentioned earlier. But there are other more intangible risks.

The deductions go to fund government programs that provide the Canadian identity of a more equal society. They help fund the Canadian Pension Fund and Employment Insurance when people need it most. What if every employer decided not to make deductions? Our way of living would be very different. And what is the risk of the most important intangible?

Actions speak louder than words. If it is okay for an employer to ignore the legislative criteria and requirements, is it okay for an employee to do the same with his employer?   I don’t think so.

So if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck! 

Best regards, Joanne Royce

Royce & Associates
A Human Resources and Training Solutions Company
Creating Happy, Healthy, and Productive Workplaces

Photo Credit: SXC, am y

I watched The Doc Zone a few weeks ago. The topic was “Facebook Follies.” It highlighted the good and not so good about social media, specifically Facebook which appeared on the scene in 2004. I had coffee with a colleague and we talked about recruiting and how different it is for Gen Y, who are growing up with social media with so much of their young lives forever captured in pictures, videos, and comments on-line, compared to how we grew up.  (A teen who started using FB in 2004 is just about ready to start their career.)  

No young person thinks about actions of the moment and how that might impact the future. This is true of most young people, from any generation. They don’t think about the future when they are enjoying the present. But the difference today is that something they did in their youth can come back to haunt them now or later when they want to be a lawyer, politician, charity worker, teacher, police officer, and even a spouse or parent. Most young people are not thinking about how those old FB pictures and Twitter comments might impact future opportunities. Unfortunately, they live on forever on-line.

Sure we oldies (Boomers and GenX) who are doing most of the hiring at this point in time, did things when we were younger too. But we didn’t have mobile phones and social media making it easy for youthful escapades to be immortalized forever on Facebook. If we were lucky, like I was, we had our mother telling us to “Learn from your mistake, hold your head up high, and carry on.” So we have the moment etched in our mind somewhere, not like today when it is out there for the whole world to see, especially if it’s in the hands of “friends” who think it’s something the whole world should see. (No such thing as privacy or control on the Internet). Of course, moms will still say “Learn from your mistake ….” but it sure must be a lot harder to “hold your head up high, and carry on” with the whole world watching.

It seems unfair that those doing the hiring have the knack of forgetting. Somehow we don’t remember some of the silly events of our own youth. We were allowed to make our mistakes in our small circle of friends and family. We don’t have the “social memory” of on-line media to remind us of our youthful mistakes. (Not that mistakes are reserved for the young – i.e. Mr. Weiner). In a recent poll 4 in 10 students worry that FB might hurt their chances in the job market. Will the percentage increase as more and more students venture out for their first jobs and/or career advancements?  I wonder when GenY get to positions where they will be making hiring decisions will they be more understanding?

I enjoy reading David Hall’s blogs on social media and there are two that stand out. One on reputation management, “92% of employers say they will “creep” potential employees’ profiles: Like, manage your reputation already, OMG! ” (including a great video by Lee LeFever of Common Craft Protecting Reputations Online in Plain English) and the other “Are you bad at technology well then you are bad at life, there I said it” I especially enjoyed the comments on the latter blog. Jeremy McQuigge commented that looking at technology in our lives from a generational standpoint “… is interesting because Generation Y/Z have grown-up with access to some of the most advanced pieces of technology of our society, yet struggle to use it in productive / meaningful ways. Technology without instruction is nothing more than say… a fancy paperweight.”

“A fancy paperweight” to which I might add that can come back to bean you in the head and knock you out of the running for an opportunity in the future that just might be your heart’s desire. I have Gen Y children; I have had the pleasure of teaching Gen Y students, and I coach and mentor some very focussed and dedicated Gen Y individuals starting out in their HR careers.  They are going to do just fine. The generation growing up and in their formative years when FB first arrived on the scene are like guinea pigs at the start of the great big social experiment of living out loud on-line. And anyone doing the hiring today should remember that.

Best regards, Joanne Royce   
Royce & Associates
A Human Resources and Training Solutions Company
Creating Happy, Healthy, and Productive Workplaces

Related Blogs:  More mom’s flocking to Facebook – A lesson for business

Sometimes managers and especially small business or start up owners recruit on the fly. They don’t have a firm idea of what the person will be doing within the organization. They often make decisions based on their gut. They sometimes ask inappropriate questions that can get them into trouble. And they have a tendency to take everything they see on a resume at face value without checking references. This can cause trouble and cost them dearly.

1. They don’t think carefully about the roles needed within the company, and they change requirements based on what candidates have to offer.  During an interview, the owner kept asking questions that had no relevance to the job ad.  The candidate tried to steer the discussion back to the original role, but with no luck. Finally, when asked, the owner said, “We’ve created a new ”box” for you.” The candidate pictured pictured a little box created just for her filled with her knowledge, skills and experience. While flattering, it does show a problem. How can a company start hiring for a specific position and then quickly decide to hire for a totally different position based on what the candidate brings to the table?
2. They hire on the spot without due diligence or fully assessing the skills and knowledge of the candidate. A candidate was referred to a company for a position in a new industry. She didn’t have experience in an essential aspect of the job, but she was confident. She was hired on the spot. Perhaps the quick hiring decision will be turn out fine, but the owner could have applied a simple “in-basket” assessment to determine if she had the skills and knowledge required, especially since it was an essential skill.
3. They hire based on incorrect job criteria or criteria that can be discriminatory. One company had an unusually high number of extremely attractive customer service representatives. The manager said being ”young and attractive” were requirements of the job, yet the customer service representatives answered calls and didn’t deal with the public! Even if they did deal with the public, this would be considered discriminatory. It is not a bona fide requirement of the job.
4. They ask questions they shouldn’t. “Where are you from with a last name like that?” “How old are you anyway?” “What’s your wife do for a living?” These types of questions can be costly. Pre-planned questions are helpful, especially if someone is new to the interviewing scene, as this prevents potentially harmful and illegal questions from being asked.
5. They don’t conduct reference checks. A small business owner had trouble with his last receptionist. She was a “walk-in” who cheerfully dropped off her resume and asked to speak to the owner. He spent some time talking to her and decided to hire her. Her resume was impressive and she answered all his questions well. She provided references, but he didn’t check them. Soon after the probation period  was over she started to arrive late. He fixed this problem by allowing her to arrive 1/2 hour later. This didn’t help. Finally the owner decided to check her references. He found out that she had actually been fired from her last job because of punctuality and absenteeism problems. If he had checked the references before he offered her the job, he would have saved himself and his staff a huge headache. 

These five mistakes can be costly.  As a small business owner or manager, you have so many other things on your plate, learning how to hire the best isn’t a first priority. If this is the case, it might be best to outsource to an expert who can help you learn about the process or provide the service for you. If you have never been trained on how to recruit and select the best candidates it hard to know what to do. If you are a small business owner or manager who needs help with developing a recruiting strategy and framework or training for your managers, please call us.

Best regards, Joanne

P.S. Have you ever been asked inappropriate questions during an interview? What’s the most shocking question you’ve been asked? Please share your comments.

Do you use the “free wheeling” style of interview? How’s that working for you?

What type of interview format or style ensures you have a best fit candidate? 

Often I find business owners and managers using the “free wheeling” interview format. They don’t review the resume in great detail and they don’t prepare questions. Some haven’t even created a job description. They don’t have the time to prepare because they are busy with business. In certain cases, it might be because they enjoy the freedom of asking questions on the fly. But this can get them into trouble. I encourage a structured interview format with predetermined questions customized to the JOB. However, I also believe that questions should be customized to the candidate’s resume, experience and on-line presence. I also advocate the flexibility to ask questions on the fly.  Why?  Because a combination of all interview formats is the most effective to determine the best candidate so you don’t rely on gut feeling alone to make your hiring decision.

Structured Interview Format – Questions Designed for the JOB

A structured interview involves creating questions aligned to the job and asking all candidates the same questions. This eliminates the risk of discrimination and allows you to assess candidates on the same criteria. It’s pretty difficult to assess if you ask candidates different questions. To do this you need to understand the job, so a clearly written and defined job description is important. If you are looking for someone with creativity, for example, you will incorporate some out-of-the-box questions that require creative thinking. If you are looking for someone with problem solving abilities you might describe a scenario and ask them to problem solve on the spot. If you are looking for someone to fill a structured position, with set hours and operational procedures, you will ask questions related to that. 

Candidate Focused Interview Format – Questions Based on the Candidate’s Resume

In addition to the structured interview format used for all candidates, questions should be designed that are related to individual candidate’s resume, experience, and on-line presence. After all, no two candidates are the same. Each brings a unique set of experiences, skills, knowledge and attributes. Candidate focused questions will be targeted to areas that need clarification or need to be expanded upon. There is nothing worse than a candidate coming to an interview and realizing that the interviewer hasn’t looked at his/her resume.  

Unstructured Interview Format – Questions that are not PrePlanned

Unstructured interview questions should be incorporated  What does this mean? It means having the freedom and flexibility to ask questions that might pop up based upon the discussions with the candidates (which are encouraged by the structured interview questions). This type of question helps clarify and probe for more information.

There is a place for all interview formats during the interviewing process! So a mixed approach is the best to ensure you have the right candidate for the position. If you need help developing an interview framework, or need effective interviewing training, please contact us.

Best regards,  Joanne

Joanne Royce, Royce & Associates, Human Resources & Training Solutions
Creating Happy, Healthy, and Productive Workplaces

Obesity is on the rise. We are sitting longer and walking less. And we are getting fatter.

In a recent article “Driving Is Why You’re Fat” (Fast Company, May 12, 2011) the author Ariel Schwartz wrote:

After analyzing national statistics from between 1985 and 2007, the researchers found that vehicle use (measured in annual vehicle miles traveled) correlated approximately 99% with annual obesity rates. The more we sit around doing nothing in our cars, the fatter we get.

I think he could just say – “The more we sit, the fatter we get.” whether in a car or all day in front of our computer screens. If we are getting fatter, we’ll be getting tired more quickly, and we’ll be taking more sick days. We’ll be using the company’s health and benefits plan more frequently. What can a company do about it? I liked the “Bike to Work Day” idea mentioned in the article, but there are many more ideas you can try to get a health and wellness mindset at work.

Many large organizations have health and wellness initiatives to get and keep their employees healthy. The Hamilton Healthy Workplaces program was an initiative to help bring fitness to the workplace including small and medium businesses, so check with local municipal and community centres for support and ideas.  Sandra Barrett, Human Resources Manager, for ILR Industries, a small company of 55 employees, took advantage of the Hamilton Healthy Workplaces program and she implemented some ideas that didn’t cost a lot but had a big pay off with a healthy, and productive workplace. Employees will be happy that the organization cares enough to implement a health and wellness initiative at work.

 Tips for Promoting a Health & Wellness Mindset @ Work

1. Start a series of lunch and learns. There are many organizations that will come out to your site for free or for a small investment. Perhaps you have an employee on staff who is knowledgeable and can share their wisdom about health and wellness at work.

2. Develop a health and wellness library with books, CDs, and DVDs including links to You Tube videos. Employees can sign out and borrow the materials to try out and get started.

3. When providing on-the-spot recognition, include gift cards with a healthy theme – massage for stress management, gift cards for a local sports store, pay for a number of fitness classes, a consult with a nutritionist, or provide an option to sign up for a smoking cessation program.

4. Search the web to share free resources and Health and Wellness Tips to your employees. Include the information in your employee newsletter, post links on your Intranet, or include the article in pay cheque envelopes. Perhaps an employee has a strong interest in this area. Assign this duty to them. They will love to be asked to research with permission!

5. Replace vending machine products with healthy choices. Juices instead of pop, healthy bars instead of chocolate bars, cheese and crackers instead of chips.  If you can’t stop “cold turkey” then start by adding some healthy choices.

6. Provide pedometers to all your employees and encourage participation by starting a friendly competition – the winning individual and department to be rewarded with a healthy gift! 

7. Implement an Employee Assistance Program at your work. There are many programs out there, some are included within the group health plans, and you can even “create your own” by researching free or low cost community services that employees can access when needed.

8. Ask a local fitness club to provide a “preferred discount” to your employees.

9. Start a walking or running club before or after work, or at lunch time.

10. Sponsor a local community sports team whether it is soccer, hockey, baseball or ballet.

That should get you started. But make sure to ASK your employees what is important to them. For example, don’t assume that your employees will want the company to sponsor a hockey team. Maybe they might want the company to sponsor a ballet recital or a local 5k run. Ask them what topics they would like included in the Lunch & Learn Series. Let your employees become part of the solution to bring a health and wellness mindset to the workplace.

And one final note, you can use some of these initiatives at home as well. When I was growing up, I lived in a small community. My friends and I walked or rode our bikes everywhere. During school breaks we were outside from morning to dusk. We experienced the freedom that isn’t always available to our children today. With technology and our fear of keeping our children safe, they’ve lost something that we had ample opportunity to become – we had the freedom to become naturally physically fit. In Halton, less than half of 12- to 14-year-olds are active in their free time. One-fifth of 5-year-olds are overweight in Halton. (Toronto Star January 7, 2010)  There are stats out there suggesting our generation of children will be less fit, and have more health problems, such as heart disease, and osteoporosis, simply because we drive them to school, to their part-time jobs, and to their friend’s house. Makes you stop and think, doesn’t it? We think we are doing the right thing, but we might just be doing something that will have a very negative impact on their health in the future. So if you do decide to start a health and wellness revolution at work, make sure to start it at home as well. 

What have you done in the workplace to promote health and wellness?  Please share your comments.

Wishing you a happy, healthy & productive workplace and home,  Joanne

Joanne Royce, Royce & Associates, HR & Training Solutions
Creating happy, healthy, and productive workplaces

Are you ready for
the Accessiblity for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)?

Would you like to save time and money?

Don’t know where to start?

Contact us NOW!

We’ve developed an interactive, content rich, and engaging workshop divided into an educational session and a working session similar to our popular Bill 168 workshops. We’ll quickly and efficiently help get your organization compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) – Customer Service Standard. You’ll have the knowledge, skills, and tools to successfully roll out the AODA initiative in your organization.

We’ve set up a one day workshop consisting of an educational session in the morning and a working session in the afternoon. Our training can be customized to be delivered in a number of different formats best suited to your organization and your budget! 

What you will learn and take away:

You leave with everything you need to help you successfully implement the AODA in your organization.

• knowledge and skills to help you implement and train your people confidently and successfully
• policy templates, checklists, forms, and tools to save you hours of time
• additional resources including FREE ELearning to save you money
• one month telephone and email access to support you while you implement! 

Who should attend:

Customer Service Managers, Office Managers, Human Resources professionals, Business Owners, or individuals who want to save time and money and are responsible for implementing the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act within their companies.  

Why Royce & Associates:
(Kind Words from participants)

• Joanne has strong subject matter knowledge, which got us up to speed on the changes quickly!
• With Joanne everything was created to be user friendly.
• We left the session ready to train staff and feeling confident we are ready and compliant.
• You saved us valuable time and money.
• Months of hard work was already done for me!

Let Royce & Associates get you up to speed quickly so you can focus on the road ahead and your business. We know dealing with policies, procedures, and legislation isn’t the most exciting part of running a business, but it is necessary. We will save you hours of time, research and headaches.  You will want to contact us now to make your workload lighter!

Best regards, Joanne Royce 

Related Blog Posts:

Are you AODA compliant? Don’t know what the AODA is or when you need to comply?

AODA Workshop – Implementing the Customer Service Standard in your organization

Bill 168 Workshops Ontario Ministry of Labour inspections show that 80% of large companies are compliant, but only 20% of smaller organizations are compliant. If you haven’t yet implemented Bill 168 – Workplace Violence and Harassment it’s never too late to comply.

Last week’s post focused on developing a compelling story and best practice initiatives for small business to appeal to the hearts and minds of talented candidates. There are many ways a small business can create a workplace that attracts qualified candidates. A recent survey of 568 Canadian small business owners with two to 100 employees asked: What kinds of benefits, options and perks do small business owners highlight when trying to lure top employees to their company? (American Express Small Business Monitor and Angus Reid Public Opinion via Globe and Mail) and the results  were interesting.  I’ve included my comments from an HR perspective for each method. 

Ten Ways Small Business Attracts Talent

1. Flexible work hours - 70%: People value flexibility. Rigid policies such as concrete start and end times, go against the grain in creative and entrepreneurial environments. Some positions (i.e. receptionist) have no flexibility with start and end times but other positions have more flexibility. Make sure your policies are written and reflect the culture of your organization, yet maintain compliance.
2. Independence – 63%: Small business owners often have trouble “letting go.” When you start to grow your organization you need to hire talent and then give them the autonomy and independence to do what they do best. This means giving up some control.
3. Work from home options – 41%: Productivity and the end results are what are important. A performance management framework will help recognize and manage productivity and performance no matter where the work is being completed.
4. Career development opportunities – 31%: If you invest in your people, you will invest in success. Development can take place through formal training programs, on-the-job-training, coaching, and mentoring. When the opportunity arises, qualifed candidates within your organization are ready and able to take on the challenge.
5. Higher pay than offered by other small businesses – 27%: A total compensation strategy will help you understand if you are paying people right.  Total compensation consists of base pay, indirect pay (i.e. benefits, vacation), short term variable pay (i.e. bonus), long term variable pay (i.e. profit sharing), and recognition and celebration. I call it the “basket of apples” approach.
6. Opportunities for advancement 27%: This doesn’t necessarily mean climbing the “corporate ladder.” Small organizations are flat so there will be less opportunity for advancement up a “corporate ladder.” In small organizations, there is a “lattice” where people can learn and take on challenging projects that provide a broad depth of knowledge. People add skills and knowledge to career porfolios. There will be more opportunities to advance as the company grows.
7. Dynamic business culture – 25%: Small organizations can offer an exciting family-like work environment that offers meaningful and challenging work. This provides a great base for story-telling and highlighting the benefits of working in a small organization.
8. Profit-sharing – 17%: This is part of your total compensation strategy (long term variable pay) and is part of the “basket of apples” approach to compensation.
9. Higher pay than offered by large businesses – 13%: Part of your compensation strategy again. Are you paying above, at, or below market rates? Do you know if you are competitive? Other HR initiatives that are valuable to candidates like vacation time, flex-time, and working from home, reduce the need to pay higher salaries as long as the salary is competitive and fair.
10. Comprehensive benefits – 11%: Benefit plans vary and need to be flexible and targeted to the demographics of your organization. Teeth whitening might appeal to a certain group and bridges and caps might appeal to another group.

Just like customers, candidates are sold on emotion, not only the facts and data. Best practice HR initiatives and a compelling story will engage both the mind and the heart of the candidate. When that happens there will be less emphasis on compensation.

Give us a call if you would like to develop a compelling story and best practice HR initiatives that will attract talented candidates. We can also develop a recruiting system and tools focussed on your business and industry, and educate your staff on how to use them effectively. We’ll teach you how to fish and attract talented candidates to your organization.

Best regards, Joanne

Joanne Royce, Royce & Associates – Human Resources & Training Solutions -Creating Happy, Healthy, & Productive Workplaces.

Small business owners sometimes have more trouble attracting talented candidates because of the perception they have less to offer than larger organizations. But a small organization can present great opportunities for candidates that might not be available in a big company.

In a larger organization a candidate is a “small fish in a big pond” and it may be harder to stand out. In a smaller company, a candidate is a “big fish in a small pond” and can have an immediate impact.  And like the old “Cheers” television series, in a small company “Everyone knows your name” and probably the name of your family members, cat or dog too!” 

When working on recruiting projects and training I ask questions like:

• Why would a candidate choose to work for your organization over another?
• What is your compelling story that says, “This is a great place to work?” 

Often I get hesitation or a confused look. If the person recruiting can’t articulate why a candidate would want to work for the organization, that message will come through loud and clear. Small organizations can brand themselves as a great place to work and offer compelling stories that illustrate why candidates should work for them. They can create a values based attraction and retention strategy sometimes more easily than a larger organization.

Are you having trouble attracting qualified candidates? Do you have an attraction strategy in place? What’s your story? Best practice HR initiatives and a compelling story will engage talented candidates.

Give us a call if you would like to develop a compelling story and best practice HR initiatives that will attract talented candidates. We can also develop a recruiting system and tools focussed on your business and industry, and educate your staff on how to use them effectively. We’ll teach you how to fish and attract talented candidates to your organization.

Stay tuned for next week’s post when you will discover the top ten ways small business attract talent.

Best regards, Joanne

Joanne Royce, Royce & Associates, Human Resources & Training Solutions, Creating Happy, Healthy, & Productive Workplaces.