CPA Ski Day: A Great Team Building Event

What happens when you throw your staff into a dangerous winter sport for the benefit of the greater community? Team building, bonding, cooperation, enthusiasm, and laughter.

Every February we invite our staff and their significant others to join us at the CPA Ski Day (Canadian Paraplegic Association). It's a surprisingly popular event considering that only the owners are regular skiers.

Months before the big event we retell stories from last year's CPA Ski Day. Like the time that Ryan's wife fell on top of the boss's son while getting off a chairlift. Or when Joanne froze at the top of a blue run and got yelled at by a stranger. Or that horrible cross country trek we endured while trying to find a green run called the Northwest Passage, and Lorraine towed Ryan with her ski pole.

In spite of these past traumas, our staff was totally stoked about participating in this year's CPA 2011 Ski and Snowboard Day. Joanne and Michelle enrolled in ski lessons and gave us regular reports on their progress. We planned our outfits. We planned our après ski dinner.

Bottom line: Participating in the CPA ski day is more than a one day event. It's an event that brings us together for the entire winter. Why is it so compelling for all of us?

1. It feels great to support CPA Ontario with their Track 3 Ski program. It is so beautiful to see the Track 3 volunteers give people with disabilities the chance to ski. Check out these amazing pictures of the 2011 CPA Ski Day.
2. Skiing is dangerous, but not too dangerous. And it's super fun. That makes for lots of entertaining stories. It also gives us lots of opportunities to bond and help each other out.
3. Skiing is social. Even if you're not a skier, it's really fun to sit in the ski lodge, share a beer and onion rings and have some laughs.
4. It’s really fun to learn a new skill. Participants in the CPA Ski Day get free rentals, a lesson, lunch and delicious après ski snacks. They also get to ski at Craigleith, one of the best private ski clubs in Ontario.

I want to thank Donna Ha who encouraged us to go to our first CPA Ski Day about 5 years ago. Donna uses a wheelchair and worked for CPA Ontario before joining our staff. The first CPA Ski Day we participated in occurred during one of the worst snow storms of the season. I drove Donna up to Craigleith in whiteout conditions. When we finally arrived we were greeted by a warm buffet lunch and caring colleagues. Donna even got to ski that afternoon.

I also want to thank CPA Ontario and their key sponsor The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company for hosting this amazing event and for supporting the Track 3 Ski program.

And of course I want to thank our amazing staff for embracing this event and making it so much fun. Now we are all brainstorming ideas for a community outreach activity where our staff could volunteer weekly for a few hours.

Do you have any suggestions for a volunteer program our staff could participate in? Do you have any teambuilding events that you recommend?

Laura Upcott
Stafflink Solutions Ltd.

http://stafflink.ca/
http://www.lauraupcott.com/
laurau@stafflink.ca
http://www.twitter.com/lauraupcott
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/lauraupcott

Diversity Works: Recruiting, Integrating and Hiring Persons with Disabilities

This video is an extremely condensed 5:30 minute version of a workshop that Tim Collins and Donna Ha presented to CGI last month. They've delivered versions of this training to IBM, CIBC, Microsoft and many other clients. It contains the key messages and tips that might be useful to you if your company is interested in hiring, integrating and retaining persons with disabilities.

Stafflink is an IT staffing agency. So you might wonder where our interest in accessibility comes from. Like most people, we have close relationships with with people who have physical challenges but that's not what defines them because they are also exceptionally talented in their work. One of the biggest tragedies I've seen is when someone has excellent skills and loves to work, but their career is suddenly siderailed by an illness or an accident. One of the things I love most about Stafflink is that our owner, Tim Collins, has connected many people like this with jobs.

A few years ago we hired Donna Ha, a person who uses a wheelchair. Donna taught us all about accessibility and was our Diversity Hiring Coordinator for several years. She facilitated many job connections between our clients and qualified persons with disabilities.

Donna moved on to a new job and we love to keep in touch with her as her career develops. We were thrilled when Donna agreed to come back for an afternoon and help Tim Collins deliver this diversity training workshop to CGI.

The Business Case for Hiring Persons with Disabilities

One of the biggest groups overlooked in the typical recruitment process are persons with disabilities. About 1.85 million people in Ontario have a disability. That's one in seven people. So what is the business case for hiring persons with disabilities?

1. The market is relatively untapped. Under utilized talent sources will be at an advantage in the future race for talent.
   
2. With the sheer size of the population people with disabilities represent a large consumer group with significant spending power. Enabling this group to earn and spend is good for the overall economy.
   
3. With an ageing workforce, the number of young people and immigrant candidates will be insufficient to meet demand.
   
4. Hiring more diverse workforce increases employee morale. Workplaces that are sensitive to their employees are better, more energizing places to work and more profitable in the long run.


5. Creates a brand as an employer of choice. In a competitive employment market employee loyalty is like gold. And turnover is expensive.


6. Having a company or product that is open to persons with disabilities will also attract their friends and families – a huge share of the overall market.


7. Uniqueness breeds unique ideas. Having people of diverse backgrounds at the table brings more creativity and broader range of thought.


8. According to John Izzo (Values Shift: The New Work Ethic) making your workforce diverse can result in a 8% increase in shareholder value.


9. People who want to work should be given the opportunity to work regardless of disabilities.


10. Beyond the benefits to business, employers have a legal requirement to ensure that workplaces are accessible and free of discrimination. Complaints to the Canadian Human Rights Commission can be both expensive and can earn your company a bad reputation.

Bottom Line: Creating a diverse workforce is good for business. Welcoming persons with disabilities onto your workforce will increase your profitability and create a better working environment for all.

Hiring Outside the Box: How to Diversify Your Talent Pool

As consultants committed to inclusive search processes, we’ve noted over the years some of the challenges organizations face when attempting to diversify their talent pool. One of the easiest is to identify what we call “right fit” decision making.

At the beginning of many searches and during the interview process, we often hear this refrain from clients—“I’ll know it when I see it.” This feel-right approach poses a challenge to an inclusive hiring process. Why? For two reasons: first, knowing it when you see it assumes you’ve seen it before and second, many “diverse” candidates who offer an organization new perspectives are just that—new.

One of the most universal principles in human psychology is the positive relationship between similarity and attraction. We are most attracted to those who are similar to us and diversity is by definition different. If decision makers rely too heavily on gut feelings to guide what feels right, they can develop unintended biases towards ‘familiar’ candidates. Doing so will slow the progress an organization can make toward diversifying its talent pool.

Preparing for New Accessibility Laws

On Jan. 1, 2010, the government of Ontario rolls out the first phase of its new Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). This new legislation requires the public sector to comply with new customer service standards. Private companies have until 2012 to comply. If you have more than 20 employees and you serve customers then this is a good time to ramp up your efforts to make your business more accessible.

By making your business more accessible you'll be reaching out to a market estimated at $25 billion. Perhaps the most compelling argument is that reaching out to and embracing fellow citizens who face physical or cognitive disabilities is the right thing to do.

Study after study proves that diverse and accessible businesses are more successful. Many companies invest in marketing campaigns to spread the word about their diversity. When your company is fully accessible to persons with disabilities and a wide spectrum of people with diverse backgrounds, you'll enjoy improved customer and employee loyalty and a broader market for your services. Accessibility is a differentiator that will allow you to retain staff and become more successful. I know firsthand this because it has worked for Stafflink.

Training your staff is essential to getting on board. Some training options you could explore:

• Marni Johnson, President - Workplace Communication& Diversity Inc. http://www.trainingfordiversity.com/
• Canadian Paraplegic Association Ontario http://www.cpaont.org/service/information-services
• Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) is planning to offer a webinar http://www.hrpa.ca/GovernmentRelations/Pages/LegislativeUpdate.aspx

I offer diversity and accessibility training throught Stafflink Solutions as well. I'm speaking at the HRPA 2009 Diversity Conference on November 25.
http://www.hrpa.ca/ProfessionalDevelopment/Pages/HRPA2009DiversityConference.aspx

George Brown College is an example of a firm that thrives by embracing diversity and improving accessibility to their programs. Their acclaimed assistant chef program has a nearly 100% placement rate and is regarded as one of the best in North America.

Do you have success story about making your business more accessible and embracing diversity? Please share it.

For more information about the legislation:
http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/mcss/english/pillars/accessibilityOntario/

Tim Collins
Stafflink.ca
timc@stafflink.ca
www.twitter.com/stafflinks
www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins