Inexpensive Perks - Attract & retain Talent

May 17th, 2011

For most companies, the idea of a big bonus or an automatic salary increase has been relegated to “the good old days.” But there are ways to add perks to a job listing and reward your employees without sending your company to the poorhouse. Offering flex-time, telecommuting, and tuition reimbursement are the most popular, but there are many more options. Use a little creativity and you’ll create a buzz about your business that will attract and retain top talent.

Here’s some perks to consider:

• Sports & Entertainment: Buy tickets from charity silent-auction tables for theatre, hockey, baseball, football or basketball and offer them as recognition, rewards and thank you throughout the year.

• Catch A Movie: Give away movie tickets (and money for popcorn, snacks and drinks).

• Grab A Bite: Restaurant coupons are always popular. Include a bottle of wine to say thank you to hardworking spouses for all that overtime work.

• Give A Gift Card: Whether it is to a local retailer, a Tim Horton’s card or shopping mall certificates, these are great ways to say thanks for a job well-done.

• Come And Get It: Leave the office early and treat everybody to a barbeque at a local park or throw a summer ice cream party or a winter pizza party in the conference room.

• Club Memberships Aren’t What They Used To Be: Most employees don’t need or want a fancy club membership but a family membership to a warehouse store like Costco will help your employees with food and clothing.

• Come Fly Away: If you don’t let your employees keep frequent flier miles earned for their business travel, use the accumulated miles to buy free flights for employees and/or pre-paid vacations at resorts or spas. (Mexico and the Caribbean are very popular destinations during Canadian winters.)

• Play, Dance, Laugh: Take some time to play games. Organize games in the park, ski days, skating parties, sailing excursions or fishing tours. Enter teams into charity bike-a-thons, walk-a-thons and 5 km runs. Bring in board games, cards or play charades. Break-out sessions at meetings and training days should include fun team building activities. Physical exercise and laughter are great perks.

• Ahhh! Spa: Have local masseuses come in and give chair massages to your employees. Reflexology foot massages are great, too. Also, buy some gift certificates to a neighborhood spa and treat your hard-working employees to some serious relaxation.

• Sponsor Teams: Offer to sponsor your employee’s kids’ Little League teams. Your company name on every uniform is good advertising too!

Look around your own life to see the types of things that make your daily existence just a little cushier and then offer those things to your employees. You’ll attract and maintain the good ones without breaking the bank.

To help you find those great employees, contact The People Bank today.

If you find this blog interesting you can:

Make a connection request to Steve Jones on Linkedin

Follow this Blog on Facebook

Partners in Prevention speakers say CEOs must focus on workplace safety – Daily Commercial News

Partners in Prevention speakers say CEOs must focus on workplace safety – Daily Commercial News

VINCE VERSACE

staff writer

Improving safety in workplaces has to be a constant focus of conversation in company boardrooms, say the top executives of four Ontario-based companies.

“We are the keepers of the keys. If we are not living and breathing it, then we should not expect our employees to embrace that safety culture,” said Ted Moroz, president of The Beer Store and Brewers Retail Limited.

“CEOs have to embrace it … and have to surround themselves with people that share those values so employees believe you when you talk about how much you care for them.”

Moroz was joined by Frank Saunders, vice- president of nuclear oversight and regulatory affairs for Bruce Power, Roy Slack, president of Cementation Canada Inc. and Steve Jones, president of The People Bank, on a panel moderated by CBC TV journalist Amanda Lang during the recent Partners in Prevention 2011 Health and Safety Conference and Trade Show.

“Visibility is key,” said Saunders. “If a CEO does not ask about safety, people will believe he is not thinking about it. In the executive boardroom, how much does the issue of safety come up?”

Safety is paramount for a mining company like Cementation Canada that basically does “underground construction” as Slack said. In addition to already conducting intense work, a growing workforce always tests the safety culture of a firm such as Cementation since integrating new workers presents the possibilities for site safety to erode.

“We are hiring more people — our Canadian operations have 600 more employees in the last eight months — so you try to establish your corporate culture of safety on these projects,” explained Slack.

“We are working on how do we orientate. How do we get new people into our culture as quickly as possible?

“That is our challenge, to get back to zero (injuries),” said Slack. “It is a constant battle. There’s always a chance of an injury and you have to do whatever you can to prevent them. To get to zero is one point. Sustaining it is another challenge.”

Slack said that for some projects, a management team will show pictures and reports of other Cementation project sites that achieved perfect safety records to prove it is possible.

In the temporary staffing industry, there’s a highly transitional workforce that enters a work environment that companies like The People Bank cannot manage, supervise or control, said Jones. Joining industry safety associations has been key in learning best practices, innovations, improved worker training, securing rebates and injury reduction, he added.

Jones said his company’s safety culture focuses on “activities” such as inspections or training program attendance to see if the safety message is coming through. Year-end reports are “lagging indicators” of safety effectiveness.

“Focus on the activities knowing that if we are doing the right thing today the result we will get, in the future, is the result we are hoping for,” Jones said.

Linkedin Resume Builder

Over 22,000 LinkedIn users have signed up for the new "Resume Builder" application since it was introduced in December 2010. Resume Builder is a new feature created by LinkedIn employee Yevgeniy Brikmanthat through a monthly employee competition called Hackadays.

In my test of the application, I was able to develop a reasonably professional looking resume in less than 5 minutes by allowing it to use my existing LinkedIn profile.

I admit that my existing Linkedin profile is designed to attract attention through key word searches rather than with a resume in mind. I've been in the same job with the same company for 28 years and don't really expect to need a resume any day soon but with another 4 minutes of work on my profile content, I would have a resume that rocks!

If you are a job seeker and need professional looking CV, never mind those complicated Microsoft templates with restrictive frames and hidden formatting; check out LinkedIn Resume Builder. If the content on your profile is good enough for public viewing on the social network then it should be good enough for a resume.

There are eleven formats to choose from. Resumes can be exported and printed in PDF format. Also, each resume gets a custom link that you can share with others via email, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Another great innovation for job seekers and recruiters from our friends at Linkedin.

Check it out http://resume.linkedinlabs.com/

Steve Jones
Wiki - "Curriculum vitae is a latin expression which can be loosely translated as [the] course of [my] life."

Ontario Family Day. Seriously, what’s all the confusion about?

Following the Ontario election of 2007, the Ontario Liberal government introduced Family Day as Ontario’s ninth provincial holiday adding to the pre-existing holidays of New Year's Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Alberta and Saskatchewan also celebrate Family Day. Under a different name, Manitoba celebrates Louis Riel Day and PEI celebrates Island Day on the same third Monday of February each year. It is a school board holiday, in Newfoundland but not an official provincial holiday.

The third Monday of February is a regular working day in British Columbia, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the territories. To confuse matters further, Family Day is not recognized in any province by the federal government of Canada.

The provincial Employment Standards Act and provincial governments do not have the jurisdictional authority over labour laws affecting people who work within federally regulated industries. The federal government of Canada retains authority over employment laws applicable to chartered banks, the post office, inter-provincial trucking, airlines, railways, broadcast communications companies, shipping firms and telephone companies.

Ironically, the Family Day holiday continues to cause great confusion in the National Capital Region and the Ontario Premier’s own provincial home riding of Ottawa South where a significant percentage of the riding’s population are employed by the federal government of Canada and other federally regulated industries. Notwithstanding all the hoopla made by McGuinty propagandists about the importance of a new Family Day holiday, many of those who elected the Premier are not eligible to take advantage of the day off with pay.

Greater disappointment and confusion arises, when two working parents are employed within different industries. A parent employed within the federal government is required to work while children are given the day off by provincially run schools and spouses are home because most private sector businesses are closed.

Even further confusion arises for the thousands of Ontarians living near the Quebec border who are employed by Quebec based companies. They are not permitted the day off because it is not a Quebec holiday. Conversely, Quebec residents who are employed by Ontario based companies are given the day off with pay but they sit home without kids and spouse as Quebec schools and business remain open. This all seems to take the “Family” out of the Family Day, doesn’t it?

If you are not confused enough, the temporary staffing industry and other provincially regulated businesses that provide services to the federal government are required to give their workers a day off with pay while the federal government users of these services are all at the office. Imagine two-hundred thousand federal government employees aghast by having to make their own coffee, fix their own printer, answer their own phones and type their own memos.

In one recently leaked, misguided and then retracted missive, a federal government employee actually claimed to have the authority to over-rule provincial employment standards, commanding their provincially regulated service providers to attend work and denounced the prescribed laws which guarantee time & one half pay. Thankfully, that memo has been deep-sixed.

Imagine a situation where an employee is a resident of Quebec, working for an Ontario based provincially regulated employer that provides services to the federal government of Canada at a service site located in Hull Quebec. The rules are clear. The worker is entitled to a day off with pay. Why is that not obvious?

Would you like to know the Ontario government’s prescribed method to calculate the amount of public holiday pay? Let’s leave that for another blog on St. Jean Baptiste Day or Remembrance Day when everything will be clear as mud.

For greater clarity, you can find out more about Ontario Public Holidays and the Employment Standards Act at http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/

Chris Roach - Regional Director of Business Services

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Chris Roach has joined the leadership team of The People Bank, a division of Design Group Staffing Inc. (DGSI)

Chris joins The People Bank as Regional Director of Business Services in a role specifically created to suit his talents. Chris will leverage his industry specialization and well established relationships within the Electronics, Pharmaceutical, Aerospace Science, Defense and Manufacturing sectors to help develop new markets, new branch offices and new services for our company.

He is recognized as a thoughtful executive who understands the opportunities in the market and then leverages the knowledge and skills of his teams to translate those opportunities into plans, actions and results. Chris brings exceptional operating experience and a strategic strength that will undoubtedly contribute to the continued renowned success of The People Bank and Design Group Staffing Inc.

I first met Chris over 15 years ago when he was rapidly advancing his career and developing his reputation with TES Staffing. He immediately impressed me as a much needed future leader in the Canadian staffing industry. In more recent times, he served six years as President of Cadre an Engineering Search and Contract staffing firm, a company named one of the top 50 fastest-growing Canadian small businesses in 2007. During his entire 23 years within the recruitment and staffing industry, Chris has earned his reputation as a staffing industry expert, a talented practitioner, a tenacious hard worker and most importantly, he has been fulfilling his role as an ethical and inspirational role model and thought leader within the Canadian staffing industry.

Chris Roach has served as a board member and past President of ACSESS (Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services); the single national voice and governing body for staffing providers. He has served on industry committees for Ethics & Standards, Government Relations & Legislation, Professional Certification and Education & Safety. He currently serves on the ACSESS National Nominating Committee.

The People Bank is a specialty division of Design Group Staffing Inc., Canada’s largest privately owned staffing firm. DG Staffing Inc. (DGSI) operates specialty divisions and brands such as Design Group, The People Bank, Inteqna, Project Search Group, Placement Group, Aimco Staffing Solutions, Allen Professional Search, La Banque de Personnel and The Medical Recruitment Network. We provide permanent search, contract and temporary staffing, payroll services and managed services for thousands of Canadian customers and tens of thousands of employment opportunities each year.

Design Group Staffing Inc. has been consistently selected as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies, and has earned Platinum Status, one of this country’s most elite business designations. Our commitment to quality is reflected in our ISO 9001:2000 certification and our commitment to safety is reflected in our COR safety standard in Alberta and as a founding member of the Ontario WSIB/ACSESS Safety Group.

Although we lead the industry in size, business process and recognition, our success truly comes from our team of great people. We are very pleased and proud to announce that Chris Roach has made the decision to become a member of our team.

Steve Jones
President
Business Services Division, DGSI
The People Bank, Aimco Staffing Solutions, Allen Professional Search, La Banque de Personnel

Canadian Staffing Industry Leads The Way

We can look back upon 2010 and easily describe it as the year of staffing industry leadership. For starters, we lead the Canadian economy out of recession by helping employers fulfill their rehiring plans. While we were going about our business, our new Canadian Staffing Index provided a leading indicator of job recovery for economists, businesses leaders and government policy makers.

Our Safety Groups also showed tremendous leadership, helping to prove that staffing companies are some of Canada’s best and most responsible employers. ACSESS, in cooperation with the Alberta government, the Workers Compensation Board and the Alberta Association of Safety Partnerships, initiated the first industry specific Certificate of Recognition (COR) safety program and over thirty member companies registered to help lead the way.

The members of the Ontario ACSESS Safety Group continued to “lead by example”, demonstrating the kind of leadership that fosters pride in our industry. Once again, this Safety Group was successful in reducing lost time injuries and frequency of incidents and they were rewarded with over $900,000 in member rebates. Leadership has its benefits!

Our Chapter Presidents are also stepping up their leadership game. Local Presidents from across Canada have been regularly meeting with each other to discuss, share and learn best practices in the operation of a local chapter and to develop winning chapter initiatives.

During our annual conference in 2010 we recognized the following people and companies for their leadership:

Award of Excellence, Johanne Berry, CPC, Tele-Ressources Ltee.
Leadership Award, Jacqueline Pourreaux, CPC, Hunt Personnel
Special Recognition Award, Sherri Strong, CPC, The People Bank
Community Service Award, Randstad Canada
Community Service Award, The Bagg Group
Health & Safety Award, C-S Personnel Ltd.

Time after time, ACSESS members assume various leadership roles with a sense of purpose, shared vision and a desire to make our individual companies better and our industry better. As we turn every corner another staffing industry professional is leading us to change and improve. You are a passionate group and it’s no surprise that the staffing industry is the source of so many leaders doing so many great things.

In this issue recently published issue of Dialogue and on the ACSESS website, you’ll find a summary of the upcoming conference for 2011. Whether you are looking to lead or to be lead, the industry’s best will converge on Montreal in May 2011. If you are staffing professional, this is an event that you don’t want to miss.

(Reprinted from my President's Message in ACSESS Dialogue Magazine)

Enjoy,

Steve Jones

ACSESS National President

Click here for: ACSESS Conference Brochure and Registration Form

Click here for: ACSESS Dialogue Magazine

Safety Matters - Temporary & Contract Staffing

The Association of Canadian Search, Employment & Staffing Services (ACSESS) sponsored safety group will receive rebates totalling $900,681.07. The safety group, comprised of over 65 ACSESS member firm accounts, will be awarded the rebates for initiatives that significantly reduced both the severity and frequency of workplace injuries in 2009. A rebate ceremony for ACSESS members will be held on November 24th, 2010. Please click here to view our press release.

As a sponsor since 2001, ACSESS oversees member companies' participation, liaises with the WSIB and other health and safety organizations, recruits new safety group members, measures progress and regularly reports to the WSIB. The association also encourages members to share ideas and pool resources by organizing joint meetings and leadership workshops and helps participants to develop action plans.

ACSESS Safety Groups 2011 - Accepting new applications

Benefits of a staffing firm joining a safety group:

• Access to health and safety resources and best practices from other participants


• Help with developing and managing effective health and safety programs


• Healthy and stable workforce


• Increased productivity


• Increased employee morale


• Benefit from ongoing support from a health and safety consultant with industry specific expertise

Along with improving workplace safety, staffing companies can reduce WSIB premiums and earn financial rebates.
Interseted Staffing companies can click here to complete an application form.

Open Houses for staffing company owners and managers are scheduled for December 2nd in Windsor and December 10th GTA - Please click here for Open House Details.

Congratulations to all Staffing companies who are active members of the safety group you for your dedication to this industry.

Together, the sataffing companies are reducing workplace injuries and setting higher standards for safety in the staffing industry.

Mary McIninch, B.A, LL.B (Membre du Barreau du Québec)
Director of Government Relations/Directrice des Affaires Publiques
Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services
Association Nationale des Entreprises en Recrutement et Placement de Personnel
905-826-6869/888-232-4962

Temporary Help & the Federal Government

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Federal Government & the THS Supply Arrangement

The past 24 months have been tumultuous times for suppliers operating under the federal government’s THS supply arrangement in the NCR. The recessionary economy combined with changes in the government’s procurement rules have resulted in unprecedented business challenges and a real threat to some staffing companies whose core business is the supply of temporary help services to the public sector.

While suppliers, workers and buyers are all trying to adapt to the changes, the government’s procurement model for temporary staffing, users of the services and the industry remain under constant scrutiny and duress because of several converging and influential forces. The following summary briefly describes some of the issues, the forces at play, ACSESS involvement and the current ACSESS position.

Temporary Help is a Valuable Service

For starters, managers within government with budget and performance objectives know that Temporary Staffing Services, acquired through the PWGSC “ THS “ procurement vehicle, is the most efficient, cost effective and value based solution available to solve their peak workloads, staff shortages, skill shortages and projects. Thousands of various government managers independently come to the same conclusion over and over again. There is a need for temporary help; there are legitimate motives driving the procurement of temporary help; and temporary staffing providers deliver a high quality service. These are undisputed facts.

THS - Right of First Refusal – The Critical Flaw

In May of 2009, PWGSC implemented a new rule that requires buyers within the federal government, to issue their purchase requests (Call-ups) to the lowest priced suppliers, with no special consideration allowed for “value issues” like availability of resources, past service experience, call-backs of previously assigned temporary workers, fit, or comparative skills of the available workers through different suppliers. Commonly referred to as the “right of first refusal”, this rule requires buyers to take several unnecessary and time consuming steps to attempt to buy the lowest price resource from the THS price list or they must document their justification for not buying the lowest priced supplier. This model is failing! It is the source of a variety of unintended consequences and undesirable buyer and supplier behaviors. The “right of first refusal” relies upon three false assumptions. 1) all workers and all staffing companies are indiscernible, homogeneous commodities; (2) lowest priced and lowest wage worker = greatest value; 3) buyers cannot be trusted to make best value decisions from a list of vendors that are pre-selected by PWGSC and from predetermined prices that are set weekly through price competitions.

The “right of first refusal” rule has been implemented in the regions outside the NCR with better flexibility and cognizance for providing proper value to the crown. Nevertheless in spite of the existence of a more value emphasized approach the relative constraints of the system has led to widespread "category manipulation" by having to call for a much higher category to ensure a billing rate that can support a pay rate to attract the suitable candidate. Therefore the regions are not experiencing similar failings. The undesirable consequences and behaviors are exclusive characteristics to the NCR which is the only region where the “right of first refusal” is being pursued with such inanely excessive vigour.

THS – Advisory Committee

An Advisory Committee comprised of several representatives from PWGSC, client departments, ACSESS NCR chapter and non-ACSESS industry representatives has been meeting regularly for several years to monitor, evaluate and improve Public Works THS procurement model in the NCR. Minutes of each meeting and a list of committee members since November 2006 are available for review at http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/app-acq/sat-ths/rcc-acm/2010-07-20-eng.html . Our ACSESS committee representatives have done an excellent job of raising issues, presenting our positions, making recommendations and keeping the issues alive and prioritized. You’ll note from most recent meeting minutes that our current focus is on improved communications, training and best practices in an effort to offset the harmful declining wages rates resulting from the current flaws in the THS model. Our committee representatives have consistently delivered the message that “right of first refusal” does not work. We repeatedly urge PWGSC to abandon the ”right of first refusal” policy and allow buyers to apply their own unique needs criteria to their selection process, so long as they buy from the list of authorized suppliers at the approved pricing. Several alternatives have been offered and discussed. PWGSC has resisted our requests maintaining that the principle of "Right of First Refusal " constitutes good contracting policy.

After more than 20 years of ACSESS working with PWGSC on procurement policy, it is a known fact that bureaucrats are constantly influenced and pressured by a confluence of disparate factors which may involve unions, legal counsel, media, Public Service Commission, Auditor General, competition bureau, political forces and other parties that have motive or responsibility to scrutinize and influence government policy and practices.

Treasury Board Meeting

In an effort to address the contention that the THS system and specifically the “right of first refusal” is a Treasury Board issue, ACSESS representatives from the NCR and National Government Relations committee met in April 2010 with Roy Rempel, then Policy Advisor, Treasury Board - Office of the Minister Stockwell Day. Mr. Rempel has since moved to the Prime Minister’s Office. In the April meeting we submitted a detailed report http://www.acsess.org/CAPITAL/PDF/Treasury-RempelR1-b.pdf describing our experience and concerns with the flawed THS system. Mr. Rempel expressed his interest in and his understanding of the issues. He assured us that Treasury Board had no specific role in the development of the THS system or in the “right of first refusal” policy. He encouraged us to deal at the appropriate senior levels at PWGSC for a resolution.


Senator Pierrette Ringuette

In June of 2010, The Hon. Senator Pierrette Ringuette from New Brunswick requested that the Senate Standing Committee on Finance be authorized to examine and report on the use by the Government of Canada of temporary staffing agencies to fill Public Service jobs. That, in conducting such study, “ the committee take particular note of 1) The approximate $300 million annually that is charged to the Canadian taxpayer by agencies to staff Public Service positions; 2) Whether the use of such agencies has allowed the circumvention of geographic, linguistic and merit rules in the hiring process; 3) The cost to Public Service employees for the use of services provided by temporary staffing agencies; 4) Its impact on the ability of a sound, stable Public Service to provide services to Canadians”

It seemed obvious to industry insiders that she had bias with a predisposed conclusion to any study that might be undertaken. It also seemed transparent that points 1, 3 & 4 are more like statements of her desired findings rather than the objects of study. The Senator’s motive is held within point #2. ( ie. “use of such agencies has allowed the circumvention of geographic, linguistic and merit rules in the hiring process”). The reference to “geographic” and “linguistic” criteria is intended to mean that the Senator wishes to create or emphasize easier access to high paying public service jobs for the predominately French speaking constituents of her province. Moreover, if the government was forced to reduce its use of temporary help in the NCR (and other forms of temporary hiring such as casual services) then the alternative would be an advantage to those constituents living within a predominately bilingual population such as the Senator’s home riding.

Subsequently, parliament requested that the Public Service Commission, under the direction of President Maria Barrados, conduct a study into temporary help services. The PSC completed their study during the summer months and tabled their findings in parliament in early October 2010. As a result, Senator Ringuette withdrew her request for the Senate to prepare an independent study. The Senator also gave notice of her intention to introduce a Bill that would address the issues as she sees them. It is unclear what recommendations the Senator might make in her bill but we anticipate a thinly veiled effort to use the Public Service Employment Act to achieve her objectives.

Public Service Commission

The Report prepared by the Public Service Commission can be found at http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/adt-vrf/comrpt-rapter-y-eng.htm#n2010 and http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/arp-rpa/2010/index-eng.htm
The Public Service Commission regularly audits and studies various aspects of the governments hiring practices as a core responsibility within its mandate which is “to safeguard the integrity of the public service staffing system as well as the political neutrality of the public service. The PSC recruits qualified Canadians to the public service and develop policies to ensure that appointments respect the core appointment values of merit and non-partisanship, as well as the guiding values of fairness, access, transparency and representativeness.”
Included with the list of studies (2009-2010) prepared by Public Service commission, several similar or related topics include:

• Study on Use of Temporary Help Services in Public Service Organizations
• Study on Casual employment: Sources and practices
• Study on Verification of Educational Credentials
• New indeterminate employees: Who are they - An update
• What extent do casuals become employed under the Public Service Employment Act - An update
• Acting Appointments and Subsequent Promotions in the Federal Public Service - An update
• Appointment under the Public Service Employment Act following participation in federal student employment programs - An update
• Study on mobility of public servants - An update
• Study on the data collection of non-advertised appointment processes (2009)

Within, almost all of these studies, the Public Service Commission address a recurring theme whereby they maintain that regardless of whether an individual’s experience is gained through Term, Casual, Temporary Help, Student Employment Programs, or Acting Appointments, the candidates with prior government experience have an “Unfair” advantage over those without such experience.
In these reports and within subsequent reporting to parliament, President Barrados also placed emphasis on the following:

• Temporary Help, Casual and Term assignments are important tools for managers to have the flexibility and ability to get someone for a short term and;
• Patterns of people on temporary help assignments, then casual for a while, term assignment then back to temporary help suggest there may be an ongoing employment relationship which is best served by the Public Service Employment Act.
• She does “not think we need more rules and process. I think we have enough. People must better understand the tools available to them.”

ACSESS representatives from the NCR local NCR-THS Committee and representatives from our National Government Relations Committee met on Tuesday October 5th, 2010 on conference call with the PSC Study team headed by Terry Hunt, Director General, Data Services and Analysis. The objective of the call was for the study team to describe the Public Service Commission’s study methods and to provide clarity and interpretation of study findings and remarks.

On Friday October 15th, 2010 ACSESS representatives met directly with President Barrados and Terry Hunt in the President’s Ottawa office to discuss the interpretation of the finding and next steps for government and ACSESS. From that meeting we learned the following;

• The Public Service Commission is not likely to recommend any future policy changes, legislative changes or rule changes that will effect procurement policy on Temporary Help
• The PSC may ask for permission to take a future role in the data collection and study of temporary help is it does with other government hiring practices
• The President would report the study results as a subset of the complete Annual Report to the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance (Completed Tuesday October 19, 2010)
• The PSC would have no further role or intervention responsibilities on this issue following the Annual Report.

It is important to note that ACSESS does not contest the validity of the data collected by the Public Service Commission. As a matter of fact, the data seems to support the industry’s long held contention that managers within government rely upon Temporary Services to gain access to highly qualified, experienced and skilled workers and that they often transition these same resources to government casual, term and indeterminate positions.

ACSESS does challenge some of PSC interpretations of the data and some of their assumptions regarding the meaning of the data. While the Commission openly maintains that their study was never intended to determine the value of Temporary Services relative to the other options, we are specifically frustrated by the fact that the object of the report intentionally omitted the issue. The report fails to address in any detail driving the need for temporary help including the legitimate motives or the high quality of service. We maintain that the data reinforces that fact that thousands of various government managers independently come to the same conclusion over and over that Temporary Services are the most efficient, cost effective and value based solution available to solve their peak workloads, staff shortages, skill shortages and projects.

Media & Public Relations

The topics of employment, unemployment, the economy, government procurement policies, labour issues and the staffing industry are all issues that frequently find their way into the press, mostly because they touch everyone and because of the diverse ideological spectrum on these issues. Controversy and thought provoking content sells.
In recent months, Kathryn May of the Ottawa Citizen, has delivered her unique perspective on a variety of industry related topics. Kathryn May covers the Ottawa Citizen’s government beat and she has a penchant for discovering (or creating) issues related to government operations, labour relations and procurement policy. Editor Andrew Potter once wrote of Kathryn May, “she strikes fear into the bureaucracy like few journalists can or do; I’m not kidding nor exaggerating when I say that Kathryn May is a weapon of democracy.”
In an article published in the Citizen on October 5, 2010 May misquoted the PSC report incorrectly stating that the “study found 73 per cent of temporary workers in its sample ended up with term or permanent positions” when in fact the report stated that one in 5 (20%) eventually landed these positions. In May’s typical controversy seeking style, she also stated in her article that spending on agencies has “exploded” while President Barrados specifically denied the use of the term in her report or her interview with May.

On behalf of the industry, ACSESS Executive Director Amanda Curtis responded to the Ottawa Citizen with a published editorial letter on October 12, 2010. You can find a copy of our response at http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/hires+temps+most+effective+staffing+
solution/3655565/story.html?id=3655565.

We can expect that Kathryn May and other journalists will continue to report on industry related topics and we will continue to respond in an appropriate and measured fashion under the names of our Association Staff, Amanda Curtis and Mary McIninch so that individual local members will not feel targeted or scrutinized as a result of speaking out on behalf of the entire association or industry.

Closing remarks

In closing, we will continue to defend the interests of industry at both the local and national levels. Locally through the THS Advisory committee and nationally by corresponding regularly with appropriate senior bureaucrats (PWGSC, Treasury Board, PSC and HRSDC) and elected officials.

The THS Advisory Committee comprised of several representatives from PWGSC, client departments, ACSESS NCR chapter and non-ACSESS industry representatives will continue to monitor, evaluate and work towards improving Public Works THS procurement model in the NCR. Our national office will continue to correspond with senior bureaucrats, senators and elected officials in support of local efforts. We will ensure that our message is effectively communicated to key decision makers in both the political and bureaucratic sectors.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support of ACSESS.

Steve Jones, National President

National Capital Region Government Relations Committee:
Chair - Jeremy Ingle, SPI Consultants
Committee Members - Steve Jones, The People Bank
Martin Chenier, Lannick Group of Companies
Isabelle Copeland, Harrington Staffing Services
Meredith Egan, The AIM Group

National office contact:
Mary McIninch, LL.B (Barreau du Québec)
Director, Government Relations/Directrice, Affaires Gouvernementales
Phone/Tél. : 905-826-6869/1-888-232-4962 Fax/Télécopieur : 905-826-4873
2233 Argentia Road, suite 100, Mississauga, ON L5N 2X7
www.acsess.org

Canadian Staffing Index - September Employment

Several recent economic measures suggest that the Candian economy is in a state of guarded and uncertain, moderate recovery. In times like these, employers rely upon a contingent workforce comprised of temporary and contract workers to augment their core staff. Here are the most recent results from the ACSESS Canadian Staffing Index. We are still moving in the right direction.

Four Point Gain in September ACSESS Staffing Index
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Oct. 19 /CNW/ - The Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services (ACSESS) released the Canadian Staffing Index for September 2010.

For the second consecutive month, the Canadian Staffing Index saw a four point increase, which brings it to within seven (7) points of the July 2008 benchmark of 100. Notably, this result is the strongest showing in more than 20 months and demonstrates six months of continued recovery in the Canadian staffing industry.

The Canadian Staffing Index, which is compiled by "Staffing Industry Analysts", measures the hours of service provided by Canadian staffing firms. This recent monthly boost indicates continued job creation. Typical to seasonal trends, the autumn months tend to reflect an increase in contract and temporary positions based on the combination of students leaving the marketplace and the need to move product for the Christmas and winter seasons. ACSESS forecasts that employers will continue to augment their core staffing levels with a growing contingent workforce to hedge against uncertainties of the improving economy and to meet season demand.

Steve Jones, ACSESS President, says, "Anecdotally, our members have been reporting increased demand from clients across the board, the Canadian staffing Index is empirical evidence that the labour market is strengthening. As the pendulum continues to shift, Canadian business will need to address the inevitable concerns of both skills and labour shortages. Canada's staffing industry is well placed to work with their client in addressing these concerns."

About the Canadian Staffing Index:

An Index value of 93 is the measure of hours of labour performed by temporary and contract staff in September 2010 compared to the benchmark index of 100 established in July 2008, prior to the recession. The data collected for the Canadian Staffing Index is the largest sample size ever collected in Canada offering valid, real time information for economists, politicians, business analysts and journalists. It provides accurate information on current trends and clear visibility into near-future employment as the staffing industry is the first to see both positive and negative adjustments due to economic influences.

About ACSESS

ACSESS is the single voice for promoting best practices and ethical standards for the recruitment, employment and staffing services industry in Canada. For more information visit: www.acsess.org

About Staffing Industry Analysts

Staffing Industry Analysts is the premier research and analysis firm covering temporary employment and the contingent workforce. Known for its independent and objective insights, the company's proprietary research, data, support tools, publications and executive conferences provide a competitive edge to decision-makers who supply and buy temporary staffing. In addition to temporary staffing, Staffing Industry Analysts also covers these related staffing sectors: third party placement, and staff leasing (PEOs). Founded in 1989, the company is headquartered in Los Altos, California. For more information visit: www.staffingindustry.com


For further information:
Media Contact:
Suzanne McInerney, CPC
Communications and Marketing Specialist
Phone 905-826-6869 / Toll Free: 1-888-232-4962
Email: smcinerney@acsess.org

Ontario Track 3 - 2010 - Adaptive Skiing & Snowboarding