Unique awards recognize both CEOs and HR leaders
Melanie Laflamme, who has been the vice-president of human resources and organizational development at the YMCA of Greater Toronto for the past nine years, has spent her entire 32-year HR career in the not-for-profit sector.
While good HR practices are the same regardless of sector, there are unique challenges at non-profit organizations, said Laflamme.
“Good HR would ensure that we develop an HR strategy that’s aligned with the organizational strategy,” she said. “It’s always a balance between how much money you’re focusing on program delivery versus allocating to staff. In a non-profit, that’s a very difficult decision.”
Over the last five years, Laflamme has introduced new family-friendly benefits for the organization’s more than 3,500 employees, including maternity leave top-ups, and developed a new competency model that reflects the organization’s values.
Thanks to these initiatives, the YMCA has been named one of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers for the past three years and was recognized as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People this year. Employee engagement has also increased from 75 per cent to 84 per cent in five years and turnover is at just eight per cent, she said.
These accomplishments also led to Laflamme being recognized as the top HR leader for organizations with more than 500 employees at the second annual Toronto Business Excellence Awards, organized by the Toronto chapter of the Human Resources Professionals Association (THRPA) in November.
The awards were created last year to recognize HR’s essential function as a strategic partner within a corporate context, said Yvonne Blaszczyk, chair of the THRPA board. The awards are unique in that they recognize both CEOs and HR leaders for advancing leadership and excellence in organizations, she said.
“Both CEOs and HR leaders have a pivotal role in managing business,” said Blaszczyk. “We wanted HR to be a visible strategic partner in this essential, key function in an organization.”
The HR award recognizes HR leaders who have implemented and administered HR programs and employee motivation initiatives that enable employees to develop and use their full potential in alignment with the organization’s overall objectives and business strategy.
“It’s very exciting to see the work that’s being done in HR and, in particular, in non-profit is being acknowledged,” said Laflamme.
Laflamme reports directly to the YMCA of Greater Toronto’s CEO Medhat Mahdy and is considered a strategic partner.
As part of its mission and program offerings, the YMCA focuses on the social factors that affect health, with employment being one of those factors, said Laflamme. Because of that external focus, the organization has a different approach to HR within the organization, she said.
“There’s a recognition that work isn’t simply an economic transaction — it’s important in terms of human life and dignity,” said Laflamme. “It’s really quite exciting that we have the commitment from our president to be able to do this.”
At alcoholic beverage company Diageo Canada, the vice-president of human resources is a member of the Canadian executive team, said the company’s CEO, Debra Kelly-Ennis, recipient of this year’s leading CEO award for organizations with more than 500 employees.
The CEO award recognizes excellence in how an organization’s senior leaders guide and sustain an organization and how they address ethical, legal and community responsibilities.
Kelly-Ennis works closely with the vice-president of HR and the company invests considerably in developing its 1,000 employees through a performance review and goal-setting program, a year-long leadership performance program and work-abroad opportunities.
“Our corporate priorities are people, culture and values,” said Kelly-Ennis. “Employee satisfaction and engagement is a priority for us.”
Diageo Canada conducts an annual values survey, which shapes the organization’s strategy and identifies what engages and disengages employees, she said.
“Many of our employees told us they wanted to give back to the communities where we live and work and make a commitment to responsible corporate citizenship. As a result, we have partnered with Evergreen and, to date, we have planted approximately 10,000 new trees in communities across Canada,” said Kelly-Ennis.
When Heather Evans began working at the Child Development Institute as the organization’s first manager of human resources in 2006, she needed to draw on all of her varied HR experiences over the past two decades.
“When I came on board, the HR department did not really exist,” she said.
Evans is now considered a strategic partner and the CEO regularly asks her for her input on the strategic plan and how people decisions will affect the strategy.
Of the many policies and systems Evans has put in place, one of the most influential has been a succession planning model to identify leaders in the organization and groom them for other positions.
With only 200 employees, there aren’t enough positions at different levels in the organization to support all employees’ development goals so sometimes succession planning includes a role outside of the organization, she said.
And the winners are…
Winning CEOs and HR leaders at Toronto Business Excellence Awards
There were 340 attendees at the 2010 Toronto Business Excellence Awards gala on Nov. 18, which were created by the Toronto branch of the Human Resources Professionals Association (THRPA) to recognize leaders who advance leadership and excellence in an organization.
Anyone can nominate a leader for one of the four awards and there were nine finalists, said Yvonne Blaszczyk, chair of the THRPA board.
Leading CEO award (more than 500 employees): Debra Kelly-Ennis, president and CEO at Diageo Canada
Leading CEO award (fewer than 500 employees): Paul Timmons, president at ECRO Worldwide
Top HR leader award (more than 500 employees): Melanie Laflamme, vice-president of human resources and organizational development at the YMCA of Greater Toronto
Top HR leader award (fewer than 500 employees): Heather Evans, manager of human resources at Child Development Institute
