The importance of leadership development and labour relations education

00:00 Overall, we are seeing that organizations are really trying to balance today's realities with

00:06 tomorrow's demands. So, this really does suggest that organizations understand where the future is

00:12 headed because at its core uh it's about helping people work through complex uh issues together.

00:24 Hi there, I'm Sarah Dobson, managing editor at Canadian HR Reporter. Today I'm pleased

00:30 to be speaking with Queens University's Industrial Relations Center, winner of two 2026 Reader Choice

00:37 Awards for Labor Relations Training and Leadership and Team Development. Joining me are Jennifer Man,

00:45 program team manager, and Lindseay Vanzulin, sales and marketing manager. So, welcome. Thank you for

00:51 having us. We're excited to be here today. Let's get started. Lindsay, can you talk about some of

00:57 the top HR trends that have emerged in your report for 2026? So, this was actually uh the second year

01:04 in a row where Queens IRC has taken a pulse at the issues that are really shaping workplaces

01:10 across Canada through our HR trends report. Um, particularly this year's findings were based on

01:16 feedback that we received from more than 500 um HR and labor relations professionals uh from a

01:22 variety of industries and sectors across Canada. And what particularly was valuable was that

01:27 the report captured perspectives from both the management and union representatives which really

01:33 gave us a well-rounded view of the opportunities and challenges that organizations are facing

01:39 today. And for us as an organization with HR relations and organizational leaders across

01:46 Canada, many of the findings were reflected in conversations that we are having every day in our

01:53 classroom um in webinars that we hold in custom programs that we deliver for organizations as

01:59 well as um industry partnerships. So, what really stood out from for us from this year's findings is

02:06 that organizations are increasingly recognizing that today's workplace challenges can't just

02:12 be solved through short-term initiatives alone. Rather, they're focusing on building

02:17 uh stronger labor um leadership capabilities as well as more resilient workplace cultures and

02:24 then the skills needed to really be able to adapt to future change.

02:29 emerge as the top HR priority for this year. Uh while succession planning and leadership
02:35 pipelines were also identified um among the top organizational challenges and this really
02:40 tells us that organizations do understand the importance of developing future leaders. However,
02:47 many are still really working to build those systems and their talent pipelines that are needed to support that longer term success. And that's something again that we are seeing reflected not
02:57 only in the research that we're doing uh but also in the growing demand that we have for
03:02 programs as organizations are preparing their leaders to navigate the increasing complexity
03:09 of the workplace today. In addition um we've also saw that employee engagement remained a
03:16 major focus in the report. In fact, uh, one of the more interesting findings that we found was
03:21 that organizations identified employee engagement improvements as one of their top successes yet
03:28 sustaining that engagement and morale was also the number one challenge. So that tells us that
03:34 organizations have made progress, but then also maintaining that engagement over the long term
03:40 does remain quite difficult. Um, we also saw that labor relations emerged as a significant priority,
03:48 ranking among the top three HR priorities for this year. So, as workplaces are continuing to evolve,
03:55 um, organizations are recognizing the importance of really maintaining those strong labor
04:00 management relationships to help support the stability, trust, and organizational change. And
04:06 finally, um it is impossible for us to not have a conversation about what the future of work looks
04:12 like without talking about AI. So it's already influencing how we work, how we communicate,
04:18 make decisions both in our professional personal lives. And so while many organizations see data
04:26 analytics and AI as critical to the future of HR, um in the report we did find that only 6% reported
04:33 extensive adoption of HR or um automation and AI and only 9% have fully developed AI governance
04:43 um frameworks in place in their organizations. So this really does suggest that organizations
04:48 understand where the future is headed. However, many are still really building those skills and
04:54 policies and governance that are needed in order to get them there. Um, overall, we are seeing that

05:01 organizations are really trying to balance today's realities with tomorrow's demands. So whether

05:06 that's through their leadership development, employee engagement, their labor relations or AI,

05:13 um a common thread really is that need to build stronger organizational capabilities and prepare

05:19 workforces for this continuing change. And so that's exactly why organizations continue

05:25 to invest in professional development and uh leadership learning really helping their employees

05:31 and their people to build those skills needed to navigate the increasing complexity in the

05:37 future. Okay, some good insights there. Further to the AI results that you saw, can you talk about

05:44 what kind of impact it's having on workplaces today and how organizations can better prepare?

05:51 Yeah. So I think one of the sort of biggest misconceptions often is that AI um is purely

05:57 a technology conversation. And so what we are seeing in workplaces um from feedback that we've

06:03 received from um the people whom we're working with our facilitators who are um industry leaders

06:11 um and then just general conversations too that we're having with others in industry is that AI

06:17 really is a conversation about people, leadership and organizational change. um it's really already

06:24 influencing how work gets done, how decisions are being made, and then how organizations are

06:29 thinking about productivity, skill development, and then future workforce planning as well. Uh

06:36 leaders are asking some really important questions too. Um questions like how will jobs evolve over

06:42 time? Um what skills will employees need for the future? How do we then support employees through

06:47 this change? Um there's also lots of conversation about um the balance of innovation with ethics and

06:54 governance and trust. And so at Queens IRC, we've been hearing all of these questions consistently

07:00 being asked through our research, our industry partners, our uh conference participation,

07:07 and just general conversations across Canada. And so that's one reason why we've chosen to develop

07:14 um our new AI powered workforce planning program where organizations aren't just looking to

07:20 understand the technology itself. Um they wanted to really have practical guidance on workforce

07:26 planning uh the skills development behind it, organizational design and then that leadership

07:33 readiness in that um AI enabled environment. So one thing we've noticed is that organizations

07:40 are becoming less concerned about whether AI will impact their workplace and more concerned about

07:46 really how to prepare their people for their that impact. And that's where HR and organizational

07:52 leaders have this critical role to play. So when it comes to preparing them for what's ahead,

07:57 um our advice here at the IRC is to really start with your people, not the technology. you know,

08:04 investing in that skill development, really helping your leaders to build that confidence in managing change, in establishing governance and ethical guidelines. Um, and then engaging your

08:14 employees really in that conversation early. AI shouldn't just be about your workforce strategy.

08:20 Um, it should be a way to help the people to be able to drive it. um organizations that will

08:27 be most successful won't necessarily be the ones that are um adopting AI the fastest, but they'll

08:33 be the ones who are really thoughtfully aligning that technology with their people and business

08:39 objectives while they're building that trust and leadership capacity and workforce readiness needed

08:45 to be able to adapt as AI continues to evolve. Yes, that people component is so important to

08:51 the AI side of things. So Jennifer, over to you. Can you talk about why labor relations education

08:58 is still so important and what makes the approach at Queens IRC so unique? Yeah, so labor relations

09:06 education remains incredibly important because at its core uh it's about helping people work through

09:12 complex uh issues together. So even as workplaces evolve, organizations still need leaders who can

09:18 navigate conflict, uh build trust, communicate effectively, and and find solutions uh that

09:24 balance organizational objectives with employee needs. So today, we're seeing organizations

09:30 manage everything from workforce shortages to new technologies and shifting employee expectations.

09:37 So successfully managing those challenges often requires collaboration between management,

09:42 employees, and unions. Uh so this is what makes strong labor relation knowledge and skills more

09:50 important than ever. What makes Queens IRC unique is that labor relations has been at

09:55 the heart of what we do for nearly 90 years. It's one of our core areas of of expertise.

10:00 um and we're one of the few institutions in Canada that continues to offer such comprehensive

10:06 um range of labor relations programming. Another distinguishing feature of our approach is that

10:13 we intentionally bring together participants from both union and management backgrounds into

10:19 the same learning environment. So that balanced perspective really creates uh rich discussions

10:25 that allow participants to better understand different viewpoints, different priorities,

10:31 um and the challenges that they all have. So in many cases, they're actually learning alongside the very people that they may one day be negotiating with or collaborating with in the

10:41 workplace in the future. Um, our programs are highly practical. So, participants are working

10:48 through realistic case studies, simulations, and hands-on experience that mirror the challenges

10:55 that they're actually going to face or are currently facing in their own organizations. So,

11:00 that practical application is helping bridge the gap between theory and real world practice. Um,

11:08 it's one of the reasons that we believe we've been recognized with the HRD Readers Choice Award for

11:14 best labor relations training for 13 consecutive years. Participants trust us. They consistently

11:20 tell us that learning alongside people with different perspectives helps them become more

11:25 effective communicators, stronger negotiators, and most importantly, I think confident workplace

11:33 leaders. uh people who feel like they they know what they need to know and they're able

11:38 to hit the right ground running after they're in one of our programs. Very impressive. Well,

11:44 can you talk about how Queens IRC has also worked to make professional development more accessible

11:50 for today's busy professional? Accessibility has really become uh one of the most important

11:56 considerations in professional development because today's professionals are balancing demanding

12:02 careers, family responsibilities. They have a lot going on in their lives and we recognize

12:07 that if learning isn't flexible, um relevant or immediately applicable, it can be difficult for

12:14 people to invest the time. So, what we focused on is making our programs accessible in a number of

12:20 ways. Uh today nearly all of our programs are offered in both virtual and in-person formats

12:27 and we deliver programs across Canada to help reduce geographic barriers. We've also introduced

12:33 flexible certificate pathways. Um we've secured pre-approved continuing professional development.

12:39 Uh and we've expanded our digital credential program which has now issued close to 6,000

12:44 credentials. So for us um accessibility goes far beyond making programs easier to attend. It's also

12:53 about making uh learning easier to apply. So our programs are intentionally designed around real

12:59 workplace challenges rather than theory alone. Uh participants as I mentioned before are engaging

13:05 in simulations, case studies, uh role-playing exercises alongside facilitated discussions. Um,

13:12 and these all reflect the situations that they are facing every day. So whether it's um collective

13:19 bargaining simulation, workplace investigation exercises, uh, or a conflict resolution scenario,

13:25 participants have an opportunity to practice those skills in a safe environment before

13:30 applying them in their workplace. We also um, place a strong emphasis on pure learning. So,

13:37 one of the unique aspects of Queens IRC is that participants learn alongside professionals from

13:43 a wide variety of industries and sectors. Those conversations often become just as valuable as

13:49 the formal curriculum because participants leave with practical insights. They have new ideas and

13:56 um they have a broader network of colleagues that they can reach out to. Ultimately um our goal is

14:03 to make high quality professional development training both accessible and impactful. So we

14:09 want our participants to leave um not only with new knowledge but with practical tools. Uh we want them to have greater confidence and strategies that they can put into place

14:18 um and into action immediately. We believe that's one of the reasons we've been recognized with the

14:24 reader choice award uh labor relations training for 13 years. Participants consistently tell us that learning alongside people with different perspectives helps them become more effective

14:34 communicators, stronger negotiators, and more confident workplace leaders. Great. Well,

14:40 thanks so much for speaking to me today to share some of the great initiatives that make Queens IRC a leader choice winner. And for more great video content, be sure to check out hrreporter.com.