For Human Resources Professionals, the beginning of the 2011 year is a great time to reflect on new developments in employment law. In this discussion led by Kelly VanBuskirk of Lawson Creamer, you will hear the latest in wrongful dismissal, human rights and employment standards cases from New Brunswick and beyond. Some of the topics to be considered are: - alcohol and drug testing: when can it be done and why? - is the new trend in human rights damages awards forcing employers to be more careful than before? - what strategies have evolved for cost-effective restructuring of non-unionized workforces? and - the reality and mythology of employment class actions: when is your company really at risk?

We all know that Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is a vital factor in the effectiveness of all employees, especially leaders and managers. Emotional Fitness (EFit) are the tools that move people to greater levels of EQ. Warren Redman will talk about the 9 Steps to Emotional Fitness and how using just the first step – Listening Power – will provide participants with a remarkably powerful tool to relate to people in the work setting. Author of the award willing book The 9 Steps to Emotional Fitness, Warren has provided Emotional Fitness Coaching for over 1 000 individuals. His unique methods have proved highly effective and empowering. He has trained over 300 people since being in Canada, enabling them to bring emotional fitness to their work and organizations.

Aligning Talent with Operations DO YOU HAVE A NEED:  To increase accountability  To improve people productivity  To get more done at lower cost  For more transparency  To eliminate redundancy and waste  To improve employee morale and retention  To create a healthier workplace  To improve operations management effectiveness If you have answered yes to any of the above then this conference will benefit you and your organization. Session Objectives:  Explain a framework for defining and solving problems and setting priorities through a fact-based decision process  Understand how standards and metrics can increase accountability and efficiency  Identify your organization’s needs and identify possible ways to enhances organization-wide accountability and transparency TalOp TalOp is a disciplined, fact finding approach for improving: 1) People Effectiveness and Engagement, and 2) Process Efficiency. The four core objectives of TalOp: 1. Validate and improve talent and operational results. 2. Provide executives with a methodology to identify organizational opportunities and risk factors. 3. Give management a framework for defining standards for people effectiveness, engagement and process efficiency for generating targeted performance results in products or services. 4. Implement talent and operations management standards and best practices that increase the potential for long-term sustainability. Bill will introduce the TalOp methodology for aligning talent and operations. TalOp is a disciplined, fact finding approach for improving: people effectiveness and engagement, and process efficiency. During the session Bill will lead participants through ‘6 Steps to Action' - how to properly identify organizational problems and potential risk factors to support building and implementing action or change management plans. Dr. Howatt's coaching clients include senior leaders in major manufacturing companies, executives of top tier financial institutions, independent professionals, and provincial and federal government leaders. Bill is known internationally for his expertise in Strategic HR, Operations Management and the Treatment of Addictive Disorders. He has published Over 100 books and articles, such as: the Howatt HR Elements Series, The Addiction Counsellor's Toolbox and for five years he authored Coach's Corner, a monthly business column in The Chronicle Herald.

One of your employees tells you that he needs to take a daily break in order to consume medical marijuana in order to treat his severe back injury. Do you have to accommodate this request? A job applicant takes a pre-employment drug screen and tests positive for marijuana but then proceeds to tell you that he has a prescription for medical marijuana, sanctioned by Health Canada, to treat his medical condition. Can you refuse to hire him? What is the difference between a diabetic employee who requests an extra daily break to inject insulin vs. a registered medical marijuana employee? What is the impact from a health & safety perspective, if your employees are under the influence while at work- if it is legal for them to do so? Does it matter if your work environment is an office, a manufacturing plant or a school? This seminar will address these topics and allow you to ask some of the above questions and more; especially as it pertains to hiring, disciplining or any special accommodation that is required by your organization and the legal ramifications of permitting or refusing the usage of medical marijuana in your workplace. Space is limited so please register early. We are anticipating that this seminar will be sold-out quickly.

We are busy planning for the next year and are hoping to involve more Chapter members. Below, you will find a description of the committees we are hoping to populate. If you are interested in serving on any of these committees, please attend our mixer on June 16th or email us. There will be a brief presentation on the various activities of the Saint John chapter as well as the Chairpersons on the various committees. There will also be an opportunity to speak to the existing committee members to learn more about their work this past year. Please register on-line for this event if you plan to attend the event. Looking forward to hearing from you. HRANB Saint John Chapter committees Professional Development • Set schedule for professional development activities • Develop content/engage speakers • Manage registration/venue etc. • Market and manage activities Member Satisfaction and Retention • Administer satisfaction surveys, report data, provide action plans to Chapter Executive • Checks email and handle member complaints and issues • Maintain partnership s with other groups eg Saint John Board of Trade and Enterprise SJ • Solicit nominations to fill vacant committee chairs and other executive positions Student Liaison • Set up student chapters at local post secondary institutions • Manage Student Intern Program • Support student events • Organize annual event for students sponsored by HRANB-SJ • Assign Advisers to student groups as needed Mentorship • Develop and implement a mentorship program for junior HR Professionals • Recruit mentors • Match mentors and their protégés • Train mentors Community Outreach and Partnerships • Establish and maintain relations with community groups with common interests, eg SJ Board of Trade, Enterprise Saint John, International Coaching Foundation – SJ Chapter etc • Explore possible joint efforts with other groups

You are encouraged to join us for a timely and informative panel discussion on the topic of harassment in the workplace. The members of the panel will be from the law firm of McInnes Cooper. The session will cover a full range of issues related to all types of workplace harassment, including bullying, personal, discriminatory and sexual harassment. McInnes Cooper will address the practical and legal requirements of harassment prevention, including creation and enforcement of employer policies and training. McInnes Cooper will also deal with how to properly handle harassment complaints, including best practices for dealing with the investigative process. Finally, McInnes Cooper will look at post-investigation activities, such as when and how to discipline for harassment and termination for cause based on harassment, the steps to conclude the process and how to deal with reprisals and false complaints.

This presentation will focus on how employee engagement impacts evolving benefits and retirement plan trends in Canada today. Mercer research confirms that employees are increasingly disengaged. One in three is seriously considering leaving his or her organization; one in five is indifferent. New Mercer research shows that Canadian employees are less committed to their employers and less satisfied with many aspects of the work experience compared to the previous survey, and they have one of the highest levels of disengagement among the countries surveyed, with a total of 58% "checked out" on some level. Peter will speak to our chapter on how these trends impact our companies and outline trends in benefit and retirement plans. As HR professionals and business partners, it is critical that we are aware of these trends and act proactively to secure our current talent pool and have the ability to attract new talent to our organizations. This presentation will appeal to Senior HR professionals, Front line HR Managers Benefits & Compensation Managers and Specialists, HR Generalists & Students interested in the field of Benefits & Compensation. It will also appeal to HR professionals who work in both unionized and non-unionized environments.

‘Every advance, every achievement of mankind, has been connected with an advance in self awareness.’ C. G. Jung, Psychological Reflections In this presentation, Mr. Arsenault will address the need for us to become more aware of behaviours and how this relates to conflict in the workplace. We are what we think. What we think influences our emotions and vice versa. This, in turn determines our behaviour. Our behaviour is manifested in our communication, in our leadership and in our ability to manage difficult situations. The key is to learn to react positively and effectively to personality differences that can result in conflict. Before you can work on dealing with other people’s personalities and behaviours, you have to know your own first. The more we become aware of our own personalities and that of others, the more we can make conscious choices in our behaviour.