THE POLL
What 96% of senior leaders said
Can an employee be qualified for his tasks at hand, but unbearable with his colleagues? Do people skills have value in modern workplaces? When the Order of Chartered Human Resources Advisors asked the question to 300 senior executives of Quebec companies with 20 to 500 employees, almost all of them, or 96%, answered that it is important for their employees to develop skills in communication, leadership and emotional intelligence. The survey results also reveal that in order to retain employees, salary is as important as establishing better communication and a better relationship with them. The two items are tied at 27%, followed by “providing better working conditions” at 22%.
THE SOLUTION
Practice being welcoming beforehand
If there’s one industry that does poorly when it comes to diversity and inclusion, it’s construction. The Freneco company from Quebec wants to change this image. Specializing in the custom manufacturing of structural wood components since 1965, Freneco hires 24% of people with profiles not traditionally linked to the construction industry. How does she do it? Two translators were hired to translate training documents and the company got involved in francization courses. “We modify the job offers by removing certain acronyms such as DEP, DEC, which may seem simple, but not for newcomers, explains Laurence Fecteau, director of human resources, on the telephone. Of the 125 employees, Freneco has 17 women, 15 workers with an immigrant background and 6 contract workers in Vietnam. The Association of Construction and Housing Professionals of Quebec (APCHQ) has chosen Freneco to represent Diversity and Inclusion in construction in its multimedia campaign that highlights innovative entrepreneurial achievements.
THE NUMBER
$4.60
Notice to those who are fueled by facts and doubt each time it is said that Quebec women have lower salaries than their male colleagues. Here are the most recent figures from the Statistical Institute of Quebec. These wage gaps are not from the 1800s, but from 2021. In natural resources and agriculture, men earn $7 an hour more than women. That’s $12,000 more, and that’s a nice difference between $17.62 and $24.60. In education, law and social, community and government services, men earn $6.79 per hour more than women, while in natural and applied sciences, the gap is $5.27 ($33.77 $ versus $39.04). Glimmer of hope: in all management professions, the ratio of hourly pay for women to men has increased by around 12 points since 1998 to reach 91%. In 2021, in this occupational group, women are at $4.60 per hour of equity with an average hourly pay of $44.50, compared to $49.10 for men.
THE INITIATIVE
Guiding retirees back to work
Will my pension benefits be reduced if I return to work full or part time? The answer to this question is crucial for many retirees who would like to lend a hand in these times of worker shortages. The week: full-time retirees, part-time workers!, which is being held from November 21 to 24 at GIT Services-conseils en emploi in Quebec City, will answer this question and many others, in particular on the CV and the answers to be given during job interviews. “Support is free,” explains public relations adviser My-Le Nguyen over the phone. GIT Services-conseils en emploi has financial support from the Government of Quebec to offer this service, because there is a strong demand in the region. »
THE BOARD
Prepare from the day of creation
How do you prepare for succession in a company? Marie-Josée Gagnon, founding president of Casacom, has been preparing for this since the day she created her company in 2001. “Already choosing the name. Initially, I was alone, but I knew that one day it would be passed on to others, unlike many PR firms who die with the founder. And I didn’t want that. Starting in 2008, Marie-Josée Gagnon began to think about different business transfer models and weighed the pros and cons by talking to managers who had done it and to specialists. “You can’t do this overnight. It takes vision. In the end, I chose to pass it on to the next generation. Three new employees become shareholders of the company, Catherine Chantal-Boivin, Mylène Demers and Mathilde St-Vincent, alongside Jean-Michel Nahas, who arrived four years ago.