October is officially designated “Canada's Healthy Workplace Month” and is designed to introduce workplace health to Canadian organizations, and to support those who are already on the journey. www.healthyworkplacemonth.ca.

A dynamic team of entrepreneurs who meet monthly at a local coffee spot to support each other's business growth present their perspectives on engaging employees, supporting cultural diversity, and effectively managing conflict. Workplaces that focus on these factors greatly increase the effectiveness and health of the workplace. On behalf of my success team “Successful Coffee,” I present Even More Playful Writers.

Healthy Workplace. Engaging Employees in the Planning Process.
With the national economy in continual flux, aging demographics, and global competition for labour, organizations are placing more emphasis on strategic planning to manage their growth and change. Well-intended managers roll out strategic plans only to be disappointed that employees don’t seem to “buy-in” to their ideas. This disconnect between management and front-line staff leads to less engaged employees, lower levels of productivity, and higher turnover.

The following suggestions will assist management in building healthy workplaces by collaborating with employees in the planning process:

• Understand what motivates your employees and why they enjoy working for you.
• Have the courage to ask your employees what is not working to identify areas that need improvement.
• Go one step further and ask what you, as their supervisor, can do to improve their work environment.
• Take stock of your employee assets. What skills do they have that are not used in their current position? What is their passion? Where can they apply this passion at work?
• Identify individual employees who want to be part of the planning process, but have a clearly defined communication strategy that provides opportunity for input from all employees throughout the process.

With this information, your management team can begin the planning process with a better understanding of how your current employees will fit into the future of the organization. A clear and well-communicated strategic plan enables employers to more accurately recruit and retain employees that are the right fit for the organization.

Karen Link is the director of Critical LINK Management Group a consulting firm specializing in strengthening organizational and community capacity. She has 26 years of experience in economic development including managing tourism, labour and skill development portfolios. www.criticallink.ca

Supporting a Culturally Diverse Workplace
The face of the Canadian workplace is rapidly changing with more internationally educated professionals fuelling the growth in Canada. Diversity in the workplace brings different perspectives resulting in innovation solutions, a wealth of diverse knowledge and skills, and greater understanding of clients to compete on the global marketplace. For organizations to maximize the benefits of a culturally diverse workplace, an effective support system is a wise investment.

The following suggestions can support a culturally diverse workplace:

• Provide an extensive orientation process that is more than one day that goes beyond providing an employee handbook.
• Set up a support system to help new employees. A mentorship program can ease the transition to working in a new country. It can be a rewarding experience for mentors and often appreciated by mentees.
• Provide cultural training to your managers and employees. Training will assist managers to understand cultural differences and help employees to successfully integrate into the Canadian workplace.
• Communicate clearly the expectations to new employees. Explain what is acceptable in your workplace.
• Organize activities for new employees and their families to get to know other employees and community. This often leads to building trust between your employees and within the organization.
  

Key elements when working in a healthy diverse workplace are to be open minded and not make assumptions, appreciate the uniqueness that every employee brings to your organization, and create opportunities to learn from each other.

Violet Poon is an intercultural consultant and facilitator working with managers and employees of culturally diverse organizations to help them understand cultural differences. Through her company Bridging to Success Consulting, she has worked with internationally educated professionals from over 30 countries to help them successfully integrate into the Canadian workplace.

Finding Opportunity in Conflict
Well managed conflict contributes to a healthy workplace in many ways. When conflict is well managed, it can aid in the transformation of teams, affect positive change, strengthen relationships, build accountability and contribute to productivity and attainment of results. All teams require ongoing work to remain strong, healthy and resilient. Similarly all teams will experience periods of change, struggle and challenge. The key is how these situations are responded to that can make the difference.

The following suggestions can support teams in creating healthy workplaces through effectively managing conflict and difficult conversations:

• Help team members feel connected, and in communication with one another.
• Address issues, difficulties, disagreements and conflicts at the earliest point in time.
• Collaborate to create mutually satisfactory solutions.
• Communicate effectively, clearly and respectfully.
• View disagreement and conflict as an opportunity (not a crisis). As R. Bach states “every problem has for you a gift in its hands”. Viewing conflict as opportunity encourages growth, change and cooperative solutions.
• Provide training to equip employees with the necessary skills, attitudes and steps to effectively respond to and resolve conflict.
• Ensure that there is follow up to support individuals in implementing their agreements and commitments.

When addressing conflict it is essential that the individuals prepare for the discussion, the nature of the disagreement (issue) is clarified, which then sets the stage for a respectful dialogue. Remaining open minded, interested in the other person’s perspectives and identifying underlying interests will help identify common ground and opportunities for solutions.

Charmaine Hammond, MA, BA, C. Med. is a consultant, speaker and trainer who helps organizations and businesses build tomorrow’s solutions today. She has a master’s degree in conflict analysis and management, is a chartered mediator and has facilitated countless difficult conversations and conflict resolution processes. To contact Charmaine, please call 780-464-3828, or email her at Charmaine.hammond@hammondgroup.biz.

Building and sustaining healthy and resilient teams and organizations is an ongoing process, not a destination. Investing in people, relationships and the organizational culture goes a long way to supporting a successful business that reaches both its results and its potential.