Well, it’s done.  The 2010 HRPA annual conference & tradeshow. This is my fist full conference attendance in probably 8 years, and while I dropped in and out past years, I cannot say as any of the quality of sessions I saw in those years could cumulatively top what I saw this year.

First and foremost, Doug Keeley of Mark of a Leader, as the MC, did an awesome job being the glue for the event. Not only did he MC, but he brought interesting stories, motivated everyone, and got a few laughs along the way too. Doug is a very talented guy. Other keynotes included Jeff Tobe, Ali Velshi, Nick Bontis and a few others – all were very impressive.

From a session standpoint, I found myself mostly in compensation and legal sessions – the practical side of me took over. And, while I heard great things about other session on perfecting your powerpoint, or being creative, or understanding generation Y – I was not disappointed with any of the session presenters.

Finally, the trade show floor – while I was not in search of many services at this point this year – was very inclusive and brough some quality services to the show. The sponsors did a great job in presenting the keynotes and providing access to them for autographs or follow up after their presentations.

All in all a great show, and I hope the HRPA can keep it up for 2011 now that they have set the bar!

Session notes are online on the HRPA conference site until middle of February, so if you have not got yours yet, make sure you do.

For years now I have followed various trends affecting the “supply” of labour to the working world. From trends in style/preferences/expectations, to concepts like helicopter parenting, to labour/skills shortages and demographic trending. Well, I guess in this day and age, with everything else the government seems to be sticking it’s nose deeper and deeper into, I would say we are beginning to see more and more “helicopter governing”.

I recently read an article about the public school system in Manitoba, and how the governemnt is “strongly discouraging” teachers from reducing grades on assignments that are handed in late. The argument is that the quality of a late assignment still holds the same quality, and the student is being penalized on that quality – thereby not allowing the assignment to be assessed fairly against its peers and national standardized benchmarks. It goes on further to say that for assignments not handed in at all, a zero is not a fair representation because a zero should represent the quality of the assignment and given that it was not even assessed, a zero is not a fair representation. (the article also touches on the concept of not failing students or holding them back a grade – but that is a topic for an entirely different day)

I don’t know about you, but here in the real world, I can tell you that if I have a project deliverable at work and I decide not to do the project at all, my boss is not going to be all that lenient. If I deliver it a month or so late, depending on the project, I can tell you that it will have significant impact on any number of other parts of the business. AND, if I continually choose not to do my  work projects, I can likely expect not to be employed much longer. I trust that I do not need to draw the parallels here between school assignments and projects, and failing a grade and getting fired.

People. Wake up. If we are not setting the bar at a young age and building a foundation of work ethics for life when our students are in those impressionable years – then we are not setting them up for success later in life. Yes, there are arguments against failing students like stalling their social development if they are held back to repeat a grade with a younger peer group, but then, why do we still offer split classes if this is so wrong. Here’s the article from the Leader-Post if you are interested in reading more:

WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s NDP government strongly discourages teachers from deducting marks from students who are late in submitting assignments.

A letter from former education minister Peter Bjornson sent on June 22, 2009 to Tory MLA Blaine Pedersen says students shouldn’t be deducted marks for missing deadlines. The Tories released the letter Thursday.

Bjornson said that if a teacher deducts 10 or 20 per cent because a student turns work in late, then that mark is not “an accurate indicator of what the student has learned or achieved.”

He said that while it is important to learn personal responsibility and good work habits, the lateness of assignments should be reported separately.

Bjornson told Pedersen that provincial marking guidelines and a desire for uniform approaches to marking dictate that “. . . marks should reflect the student’s achievement and should not be distorted as a result of work habits, attitudes or behaviours.

“If a required assignment is missing, a zero is not an accurate indicator of what the student has learned or achieved; the teacher simply has no evidence on which to make any judgment about that learning outcome,” wrote Bjornson.

The letter will further fuel public debate over the so-called no-fail policy in Manitoba education — it does not exist in writing as provincial policy, but many teachers and parents believe that it is practised widely across Manitoba.

Several teachers who have contacted the Winnipeg Free Press have said, under condition their names not be used, that their division requires them to find ways to pass kids, including by not deducting marks for late or missing assignments.

One teacher said there is pressure to accept assignments even after the semester has ended, and apply the mark to the previous semester’s grade.

Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen has demanded that students be promoted based on academic achievement.

A Manitoba Teachers’ Society poll showed that 76 per cent of 800 adults surveyed oppose having a no-fail system. MTS will receive a teachers’ task force report on workload issues — including a committee study on no-fail — in late May at its annual convention.

Veteran Seven Oaks School Division superintendent Brian O’Leary said Thursday that he agrees with the government — don’t dock kids for late marks, he said.

A student could do very well on a provincial math or English exam worth 30 per cent of the year, but potentially get a failing grade for late work in class, O’Leary said.

O’Leary said the education system’s focus should be on keeping kids together with their social peer group, and helping those students who are having learning difficulties. “The focus should be off a (no-fail) policy, which doesn’t even exist,” he said.

Holding kids back “almost invariably leads to dropping out,” he said, urging schools to do “everything we can to keep kids together.”

So I am back now, this second week of April, without excuses. I should have written more since my last update, but did not. I now have so much more to write about and update you on.

First and foremost, I have spent the past couple of weeks working with the executives at my company and finalizing the sale of the corporation. It was just the end of last week that we “handed over the keys”, as they say. While I will reserve the right to write more on my experiences around the transaction later, it has been, suffice to say, a roller coaster experience filled with great learning and personal triumphs. It is always challenging to write this HR blog and want to share experiences without breaching confidentiality, but there will be key HR learnings that I will be able to and will continue to share in the coming days.

A notable item in the news since my last update has been the increase to minimum wage in Ontario last Tuesday to $9.50/hr (for regular adult wages). While this is great for employees, families and low income earners, it likely has little effect on a lot of corporate entities. However, the timing is likely also extremely challenging and stressful for a lot of small businesses in Ontario which may employ workers at minimum wage and provide them with increased expenses to the bottom line during already turbulent economic times. So, while these companies are likely to be experiencing competitive pressures, downward pricing and decreased sales, they are forced to increase wages with likely little increase to productivity and positive impact on the bottom line. As you can see, I am somewhat mixed on this topic. While the effects of an increase to minimum wage will likely have positive long term economic impacts as those dollars re-renter the economy through increased spending, the short term effects to struggling small businesses right now are likely greater that would otherwise have been during times of strong markets.

We’ve also heard about the introduction of the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) in Ontario to be phased in July 1, 2010, to replace the now concurrently levied GST and PST taxes. While the provincial government spews the benefits of harmonization and how it will be great for business in the province, this is another topic I digest with mixed emotion. Having a young family at home, I understand that items such as diapers, formula, groceries, etc will now be subject to both taxes under the HST while they previously were subject to exemptions. Then there is the talk about new home sales – to face an 8% increase (yes, that’s $40,000 on a $500,000 home!!!). Talk is that homes $400K and under will be exempt from the additional PST, however, have you seen a new home sell for less than $400K in the GTA? How will these policies affect us in HR? – Everything from ramp up time to train or hire finance staff in applying the new rules, dealing with employees who may need to purchase homes in less expensive areas commute to work from areas further from work (or ask to telecommute, etc), potential increase to cost in raw materials and need to make overall business cost/staffing reductions, and so on. As I always present the issues, just something to think about as it relates to your business and the potential impacts on your employees.

Finally, I saw in the news that Google has announced Street View in Canada. While personal privacy may be of concern to you, it will be interesting how that may affect business concerns about privacy. It may prompt HR professionals to consider what sort of employee spaces may be viewable from the street (eating areas, smoking areas, parking lots). What about pictures snapped of the street at the front of your building while employees are coming to work, clients are entering the front door, or job candidates are coming in for an interview. While the odds of being photographed are extremely low, and an issue arising out of it is even less likely, HR professionals should consider the impacts on employee privacy and where risks may or may not exist. While I think the technology is amazing and love the concept of Street View, I believe there are and have been many court challenges in the United States on the service as it currently relates to the privacy of American citizens.