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I. CANADA Canadian Council of Human Resource Management Associations (CCHRA) Human Resource Management in Canada: Perspectives and Issues Economic Outlook There is no talk of recession, only slowing growth. The IMF projects Canadian real GDP growth of 3.1% in 2006, and 3% in 2007. The EDC forecast is more conservative, i.e., 3% and 2.7% respectively. The OECD paints the rosiest picture with a projection of 3.1% in 2006 and 3.3% in 2007.
The "Loonie" should go back down to its “usual” level, i.e., around 80 cents U.S. Two factors explain this movement: lower demand for oil, which is in turn explained by the “dampening effect due to the high cost of oil,” and the probability that the situation will stabilize in some parts of the Middle East, which will cause oil prices to fall. Our dollar, which is strongly tied to fluctuations in oil prices, would therefore lose steam, dropping from the historic highs reached throughout 2006. Canadian exports should grow at a slower pace, nowhere near the 2005 levels. This will be primarily due to slowing global demand, particularly from the U.S. Consequently, Canadian shipments will grow 4% in 2006 and 2% in 2007. The unemployment rate is at 6.5% and is forecasted at 6.6 % for 2007. Federal elections expected in 2007 The beginning of 2006 was marked by the advent of a new minority Conservative government in Ottawa. With only 124 out of a total of 308 seats in the House of Commons, the government has very little room to manoeuvre. Accordingly, federal elections are expected to be held very early in 2007, either because the government will be defeated on its controversial bills (Kyoto Protocol, the military budget and certain social policies), or because it will see an opportunity to increase its majority by calling an election even though it could theoretically wait another few years. That’s something to keep a close watch on. CCHRA Activities Our second annual National Forum, bringing together senior HR professionals and leaders of HR professional associations from across Canada, was held on June 7. Discussions focused on inter-generational management, asking the question: should HR managers create different programs and policies explicitly for aging Baby Boomers and upcoming Gen-Xers? The overall conclusions reached were that differences between generations were often less important than specific differences among individuals and that, to manage effectively, it is more important to understand each employee as a person rather than rely heavily on group characteristics. Over the summer, the CCHRA Board embarked upon a comprehensive strategic planning review. The review was finalized at the October Board meeting. CHRP Designation Update The number of exam writers and interest in the designation continues to grow across the country. Here is an updated chart that includes the numbers for the most recent exam, held on October 2006.
These statistics indicate a 25.7% increase in the number of exam writers from October 2005 to October 2006. Since this is the third full year of the exam, we can no longer attribute this rise to a back-up in demand, but rather to increasing interest in the designation and recognition from business and HR professionals that this is a designation worth having. Infrastructure Improvements In the past quarter, the Professional Standards Organization staff focused on infrastructure improvements to enable us to provide better services to our stakeholders. The website was completely re-vamped to make it more user-friendly and robust. The new version will be launched shortly, along with a national Registry of CHRPs — one of the cornerstones of national standards as envisioned by those who spearheaded the development and launch of national standards of assessment. Consultants were hired to develop a searchable database of exam registrants. This will improve our record keeping and ability to deal with administrative issues such as exam writers who pay their fee and then defer to another sitting. (Approximately 10% of exam writers defer to a future sitting.) Communication Protocols Since maintenance of the designation is a joint undertaking, procedures and protocols need to be determined regarding the division of responsibilities and division of labour between provincial and federal (national) bodies. In the areas of recertification and enforcement of the code of ethics, agreement has been reached for the national body to develop the policies and procedures and the provincial bodies to be responsible for implementation. In this manner, we have consistent processes nationally, while at the same time ensuring local implementation in this vast, under-populated country of ours. (Of course, the national groups are composed of representatives from the provinces.) Example: For enforcement of the Code of Ethics, the national body developed infrastructure requirements – number and types of committees, committee terms of reference and operating procedures, as well as communication and implementation guidelines. These tools were then provided for the use2. U.S.A REPORTSociety for Human Resource Management (SHRM) US Macroeconomic Data SHRM/Rutgers Leading Indicator of National Employment Report The latest SHRM/Rutgers LINE survey reveals that 58.0% of manufacturing firms and 53.2% of service-sector firms will expand their workforce during September. The percentage of manufacturers increasing their employment levels in September 2006 (58.0%) is higher than the percentage of those who expanded employment during September 2005 (53.6%). Firms report that it is substantially more difficult to recruit highly qualified employees now than it was a year ago. However, to date, few firms have responded to this situation by increasing wages in order to attract more applicants. For the latest full report see the SHRM/Rutgers LINE: http://www.shrm.org/line/ US Employment Situation for August 2006 from Bureau of Labor Statistics Total non-farm payroll employment increased by 128,000 in August, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported recently. Industries where payroll employment grew included education and health services; several other industries had modest increases. Average hourly earnings rose by 2 cents, or 0.1 percent, in August following larger gains in the prior 2 months. Unemployment (Household Survey Data) The number of unemployed persons (7.1 million) and the unemployment rate (4.7 percent) were essentially unchanged in August. A year earlier, the number of un-employed persons was 7.4 million, and the jobless rate was 4.9 percent. Over the month, the unemployment rates for most major worker groups--adult men (4.1 percent), adult women (4.1 percent), teenagers (16.2 percent), whites (4.1 per-cent), and Hispanics (5.3 percent)--showed little or no change. The jobless rate for blacks declined to 8.8 percent in August. The unemployment rate for Asians was 2.9 percent, not seasonally adjusted. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm HR trends Workplace forecast The SHRM Workplace Trends and Forecast program recently released its latest extensive Workplace Forecast, a report of trends from broader society and how they are likely to impact the workplace. Key trends were identified through a survey fielded to SHRM members, and results were analyzed in each of the following categories:
Important issues that surfaced and cut across multiple categories of trends included rising cost of healthcare, global competitiveness, and demographic changes (particularly aging workforce and pending retirement of a major population of workers). For the full report visit: http://www.shrm.org/trends/061606WorkplaceForecast.asp SHRM Update SHRM Signs Letter of Intent with Ministry of Personnel, China The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Ministry of Personnel of the People’s Republic of China signed a letter of intent to cooperate on programs in the area of human resource management. The ceremony occurred on June 6 in Beijing, in a luxurious garden next to the Forbidden City. The letter was signed by SHRM President and CEO Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR, and by Xiaochu Wang, Vice Minister, who is in charge of the Division of International Exchange and Cooperation and the Division of Professional and Technical Personnel Management, in addition to some other departments, on behalf of the Ministry of Personnel. The letter of intent states that SHRM and the Ministry of Personnel “intend to develop cooperation activities in areas of human resource management, including exchanges in professional knowledge and skills, study tours of SHRM HRD professionals to China, and participation by the Chinese side to human resource management seminars and conferences of SHRM. In addition, the parties would explore the cooperation on training programs relevant to human resource professional certification.” The agreement represents the culmination of many months of relationship building with the Ministry. For the full story, visit: http://www.shrm.org/hrnews_published/archives/CMS_017483.asp SHRM Strategy Conference The second annual Strategic HR Conference took place in Phoenix, Arizona, October 4-6, 2006 exceeding the established goal for 2006. SHRM collaborated with ERIAC (a COMARI association) to conduct a special promotion in Mexico. For more details on the program visit: http://www.shrm.org/conferences/strategy/ 3. Mexico Report MEXICAN ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND LABOUR INDICATORS 2006 Macroeconomic Trends During the second semester, Mexican peso lost ground versus the US dollar, from $10.47 to $11.13 and it’s expected that for 2007 the rate will grow up to 11.45. Petroleum prices are still in their highest levels and are expected to continue on the same tendency for the rest of the year. Annual inflation rates decreased % to 3.41%, and for 2007 it’s expected to grow 0.8 points. Political Trends In the past three months, Mexico's political institutions were tested. Democracy emerged triumphant. As in any election, there must be a winner and a loser, and one key to a strong democracy is having candidates who can both win and lose with grace and dignity. In the first week of September, the Federal Electoral Tribunal of Mexico announced Felipe Calderón as the new President of Mexico. In so doing, the Tribunal reaffirmed the credibility of Mexico's electoral institutions by reviewing the July 2 Presidential Election and determining that the people had spoken in a free and fair way. Now, we all must focus on building consensus and look toward the future. Working together, we will successfully have the opportunity to look for the stability and security that we want and deserve. A letter of congratulations from the AMEDIRH Board was hand delivered to Felipe Calderón together with an invitation to make a speech at our annual conference September 13-14, 2006. Employment According to official data from the National Institute Of Statistics (INEGI) and the Mexican Social Security Institute, the unemployment rate for the first semester of 2006 shows a lower level for the same period on the last year. Employees who work in formal activities on this year rate 13.2 millions, which represent an annual growth of 5.0%. A significant percent of this rate came from temporary jobs created only because of seasonal periods. Baby Boomers are a concern to Mexico with more than one million in the country. Mexico receives more than 23 million dollars from our migrants in the U.S. Every year more than 400,000 people migrate to the US. Social Trends Teachers in the state of Oaxaca have been demanding the state government to change their salary category in order to increase their wages. This situation has generated a social problem in the state now demanding the resignation of the governor. This situation has negatively affected one of the key sources of revenue for the state, revenue. The rest of the country is in a social alert AMEDIRH Report Membership During the second part of the year and thanks to an overhaul of services and a new outlook to cover specific needs, AMEDIRH keeps increasing the membership, now with the opportunity to include, not only private companies but government institutions, students, teachers and retired members of the community plus unions. Basically we are taking advantages of our new leadership and his personal relations. AMEDIRH Annual Conference & Exhibition The 12° Human Resources Forum, regarded as the top event in HR in Mexico, took place on September 13 & 14 at Centro Banamex in Mexico City. More than 800 executives from private and public companies from the country attended the event. The exhibition area exceeded AMEDIRH expectations having the support of 16 sponsors. The exhibition included 72 booths. Companies that were not able to participate as exhibitors due to space constrains sponsored different social activities. The educational program included 19 national and international well-known personalities including key note speakers plus 4 workshops. The Opening Ceremony’s head table included 15 business leaders and top government officials among them the president of the WFPMA, the president and CEO of SHRM and the president of the Canadian Council of HR Associations (CCHRA). Other activities The Association’s Board of Director was increased to include 5 additional directors. The new directors include representatives from two of the main universities in the country. With the new additions, the full Board now counts with 15 members that meet regularly once a month. In August, AMEDIRH signed a contract with one of the largest editorial houses in Mexico and which publish the monthly magazine “Mundo Ejecutivo”. Under this agreement, they will produce our monthly magazine. The print number will be 8,000 copies to be distributed to the Human Resources community all around Mexico. In order to offer better communication channels between members and experts of different areas, AMEDIRH created 5 Work Committees: Health, Benefits, Security, Compensation and Social Security Trends which will meet monthly to analyze proposals for the modification of legislation or regulations that impact Human Resources areas and specially the work force. AMEDIRH counts now with a new service to provide its members with the latest training videos for different areas such as leadership, security, motivation, etc. Human Resources experts will have the opportunity to decide on which video and focus their training program with the advice of experts. AMEDIRH signed an agreement letter with a company in Mexico that has a database of 2.5 million candidates. This company has been specialized in searching and posting candidates through the internet. With this new service, AMEDIRH will be in the forefront.
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