The HR Hub Andrea Adams

Hiring a foreign worker isn't guaranteed and it may take longer. But you may be better off in the long run.



One of my first jobs ever was as an immigration officer so maybe it was just me, but I loved this demystification of rules for hiring foreign talent. This is American content though - I'll find someone Canadian soon.



I spoke with an immigration attorney, Sergio Athanasso, of Sergio Law. He specializes in helping organizations with their foreign recruitment and gave us a bunch of tips on how to navigate international hiring. Key highlights include:



1. 🌎 Understand the various visa categories and their qualifications: TN, L1, E2, O1, H1B.



2. ⏱️ You need to plan ahead with foreign recruitment, but sometimes maybe not as long as you thought.



3. 📚 For anything other than hiring a Canadian, you may want to secure an immigration lawyer. And maybe even with hiring Canadians.



So if you are American HR - or someone going to work in the States, check this out! It might not be as bad as you thought!



Find Sergio Athanasso at sergio@sergiolaw.com or
https://sergiolaw.com/

You can find me, Andrea Adams, for consulting https://thehrhub.ca/

Succession planning is more than just a game of thrones! It's about building a pipeline of ready and able leaders. But where do you start?

This week I delved into the complexities of succession planning with Dr. Nanette Miner. She is an author, consultant, and succession strategist, and broke down the process of succession planning which is mostly
preparation. As the video below says, you need a pipeline not a single individual.

3️⃣ Succession planning takes a minimum of 3 years. Maybe this is why few organizations do it well.

🔍 You need to start with the metrics.

📈 Succession planning is building talent not buying it.

🎯 Avoid personal bias: what served you in the past may not serve you in 5-10 years.

Nanette believes that leadership should be instilled from day one and that every employee should be given development opportunities. Leadership is a behaviour that takes a long time to learn.


Find Dr. Nanette Minor on LinkedIn or at https://www.trainingdr.com/



Find Andrea https://thehrhub.ca/

"HR professionals have the hardest and the most critical role. It's to really understand the people dynamics and how it's going to help a company grow."



This week we were talking about scaling organizations. It's always a hot topic in HR consulting. Tish Squillaro, a dynamic consultant with over 20 years of experience working with clients like Salesforce and IBM, was my guest. She understands complicated things and shared some of her knowledge with us.



Her particular expertise is helping venture-backed companies scale effectively. She emphasizes five priorities for helping an organization scale and says HR plays the most important role. The first of which is having the right people in the right seats.



So we talk about:

👥 The importance of 'right people, right seats' in scaling an organization

🎯 The role of focus in achieving organizational goals

💼 How leadership style impacts decision-making and overall organizational success

🧪 The significance of team chemistry in fostering a positive work environment.

Tish's insights are not only fascinating but also insightful. You can find her via the following:

https://candor-consulting.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/tishsquillaro/



And you can find me at https://thehrhub.ca

"Celebrate all diversity."



In this case we were mostly talking about cultural diversity - as in from different countries. This used to be something we talked about a lot and then we stopped. It's still relevant though. Some peoples have different priorities or beliefs that come into our workplaces or we're part of a multinational firm.



So, with some personal trepidation that we might veer off into negative stereotypes, I spoke with with Sue Ingram. She's has a keen interest in what makes a great workplace and dealt with the topic beautifully.



In this episode, Sue brings her unique insights into multicultural workplaces and discusses:



🌍 The importance of understanding and respecting different cultures in the workplace. Food is a great icebreaker!

🤝 The role of trust and understanding in fostering a healthy work environment. Trust is related to predictability which, with different cultures can be harder.

🗣️ The subtle nuances of communication across different cultures - Sue gave examples.

👥 The impact of cultural differences on workplace dynamics and how to navigate them.



There are some great resources out there and this episode is a treasure trove of knowledge for HR professionals who have a culturally diverse workforce. It's packed with practical tips and insightful anecdotes that will help you navigate this with more joy and confidence. Really - we need to celebrate!



Find Sue on LinkedIn at   / sueingram1  
Her email: Sue@conversewell.com
Her book: https://www.amazon.ca/Fire-Well-Staff...

Find me (Andrea) for consulting support andrea@thehrhub.ca

"Being in person doesn't mean you are present."



On one hand, many employees love remote work while, on the other, many companies want employees in person. Where do you sit on the subject? The debate rages in my household. I'll state the obvious: it's hard for any of us to be objective.



I spoke with Kaleem Clarkson, COO of BlendMe, a consultancy focused on supporting remote and hybrid workplaces. Recently, he was listed as one of the top 50 experts around enabling remote work. He shared his insights on why employers resist remote work, the pros and cons of remote work, and how to build a successful remote work culture.



🥇Top tip: plan around building social connection.



🌍 The advantages of remote work are considerable. If they weren't, there would be no debate.



💻 The main challenge of remote work is how to build social connection. He says this rests mostly on the employer.



👥 A social connection strategy and calendar will help you foster connections among remote teams.



👨‍💼 He doesn't try to persuade skeptical leaders. He'll help if they are genuinely exploring the issues.



🔍 You need to think about asynchronous communication and documentation in a remote work setting.



Find Kaleem on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/kaleemclarkson/

Blend Me Inc: blendmeinc.com

Kaleem's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/KaleemClarkson

Find Andrea for consulting at andrea@thehrhub.ca

In a small or medium business (or NFP) you need to do a little bit of many things - learning and development is no exception. So, as part of my series on HR for SMBs, we are talking about L&D in that environment.



Our expert guest for this episode was the exceptional James Aird, an L&D specialist with a Master's of Education from Harvard. James has a unique perspective, having honed his skills in conflict areas like Iraq and the Congo. He is down-to-earth with a lot of practical tips to help SMBs figure out their L&D.



In this episode, James shares:

🎯 Why SMBs should invest in L&D.



💡 Common challenges faced by SMBs in implementing L&D programs and how to address them. Some is money, but some is attention and expertise.



📚 Surprisingly affordable options for SMBs to access comprehensive learning and development resources.



🏢 The role of leaders in driving L&D and aligning it with business objectives.



🔑 The ideal time for an organization to invest in a Learning Management System (LMS).



If you're leading a small or medium business or NFP or you're in HR there, check out this episode - and the whole series!



Resources:
The Assoc'n for Talent Development https://www.td.org
eLearning Industry https://www.elearningindustry.com

James' website: https://edupivot.io/

Reach out to Andrea for consulting andrea@thehrhub.ca