FRS	Facts-Risks-Strategies
Fact	The National Institute of Disability Management and Research estimates that at any given time 8% to 12% of Canada’s workforce is absent due to illness or injury. As a result, employers are challenged with providing moral, ethical, and legal accommodation for assisting employees to return to the workplace without fear of discrimination. The Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) states, “All individuals should have an equal opportunity to make for themselves the lives that they are able and wish to have.” It also spells out that the employer has the duty to accommodate employees in a manner that is consistent within their duties and without being discriminated against based on the below factors: Race National or ethnic origin Colour origin Religion Age Sex Sexual orientation Marital status Family status Disability Criminal conviction for which a pardon has been granted
Risk	What's the cost of doing nothing? The Canadian Human Rights Commission provides employers with three important guidelines that assist in defining workplace discrimination: • Putting employee at a disadvantage based on prohibited grounds. Allowing workplace inequity that blocks access to equal opportunities. Discrimination may happen intentionally or inadvertently—workplaces often have policies that apply to everyone, but some employees may not be able to meet certain expectations for reasons concerning a disability or other prohibited ground. It is up to the employer to understand the risks of their actions and to be clear that in Canada they are not allowed to discriminate against employees and all injured or disabled employees have the right to a workplace accommodation.   The cost of doing nothing and not providing employees their rights to accommodation can result in costly legal actions against the employer, as well as facilitate negative branding of the employer and senior leadership who are accountable for the organization’s employee accommodation strategy for returning injured or disabled workers to the workplace.
Strategy	The Canadian Human Rights Commission provides a detailed set of guidelines for managing an employee’s return to work. Below is a brief overview for employers when developing a strategy to accommodate an employee: All employers must adhere to the legal principle called duty to accommodate, which requires the employer to identify (on an individual case-by-case basis) any changes in rules, practices, expectations, or procedures that have the potential to discriminate a person based on the guidelines set by the CHRA. It is important to note the employee has a legal responsibility to participate in an accommodation; however, to do so they need to clearly understand what the employer’s accommodation strategy is for them to return to work. Employee must inform they have a need for accommodation or if the employer observes behaviours or concerns they are obligated to approach the employee to determine if there is a need for an accommodation. When accommodating an employee it is critical not to take an adversarial stance. By keeping positive, open, and safe communications with an employee the employer is in a position to assist the employee to do their work to their full potential. The minimal test for an accommodation plan is it must meet the employee’s medically verified needs. Employers are expected to burden some hardship to make an accommodation but are not expected to burden undue hardship. Before an employer claims undo hardship it is recommended they be crystal clear and fully understand CHRA standards on this issue. Privacy rights are another legal principle. CHRA states, “In cases employees are required to give details on a medical condition, there are limits on what employers may request and what employees have to reveal. Medical information should only be shared, within the workplace, on a need-to-know basis and must be kept confidential.” Engage employee through proactively reaching out to ask them informally how they are doing and when appropriate determine when they may be able to return to work. Be mindful of frequency so the employee does not feel threatened or intimidated by the employer. Before having an employee return to work, ensure the organization is clear on their disability or injury. A person with a disability may also have what is referred to as function limitations that define the kinds of negative impact and limitations that are present because of a mental or physical disability for performing certain activities or tasks within a defined role (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2006). The authors explain that it is important to separate the definition of disabilities (e.g., mental or physical impairments caused by injury or development) from functional limitations that describe how the disability specifically impacts the person's ability to perform a certain function. Employers have the right to request further information as to how to best provide an accommodation that will meet the minimal requirements for the employee’s functional limitation. Employers are not necessarily permitted to obtain a medical diagnosis of a condition, only details as to how the condition may impact the employee’s ability to perform their job. In cases where it warrants, employers have the right obtain expert medical advice through requesting clarification from the employee’s doctor. Employers may in some cases request an independent medical exam for serious accidents. It is not acceptable to request one just out of fear an employee’s condition may get worse or as a negotiating strategy for returning to work. Under no circumstances can an employee be forced to attend an independent medical examination. Once an accommodation plan has been developed it is important to work with the employee on their re-entry plan, as well as to ensure metrics are in place to monitor and evaluate the plan’s effectiveness and in the event there is a need to modify and adjust, the employer must be willing to do so if responsible. If an employer believes they have done all they can to accommodate and the employee is still not satisfied, the employer must inform them of their rights, such as appealing to the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC). For more information on the duty to accommodate from CHRC, go to http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/preventing_discrimination/page1-en.asp Note: Most modern countries have legislation that protects employees from discrimination and spells out employee accommodation rights. In the United States, the Equal Employee Opportunity Commission (http://www.eeoc.gov/) protects workers like the Canadian Human Rights Commission does in Canada.

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FRS	Facts-Risks-Strategies
Fact	National Research reports alcohol use negatively impacts an estimated 15.3% of the U.S. workforce (19.2 million workers); illicit drug use negatively impacts an estimated 3.1% of employed adults (3.9 million workers); and in the high-risk segments of the workforce the prevalence rate over the last 12 months has been estimated at 55.8% for illicit drug use and up to 28.0% for illicit drug use before work or during the workday.
Risk	What's the cost of doing nothing? Traditionally, drugs and alcohol were thought of as being the sole addictive disorders employers faced; however, today addictive disorders have expanded their scope into gambling, food, sex, buying, video, and Internet – all forms of addictive disorders that threaten the health and wellness of North American society. The five most expensive addictive disorders in America are alcohol (estimated annual cost $166 billion), smoking ($157 billion), drugs ($110 billion), overeating ($107 billion), and gambling ($40 billion).
Strategy	What Employers Can Do to Reduce Risk: Develop a well thought out selection process and ensure selection personnel are trained and aware of the kinds of personalities, past experiences, and skills that will have the best opportunity to be successful in the organization. Have an employee support structure in place (e.g., EAP, managers trained in recognizing early warning signs of addictive disorders) that is well thought out, kept current, and has the support of senior. Commit to engaging your workforce so employees understand the ultimate payoff is better results over the short- and long-term. Understand that early prevention and treatment have been proven to obtain effective results and may be an excellent way to save organizational resources and talent.

FRS	Facts-Risks-Strategies
Fact	Cyber-loafing is the personal use of email and the Internet while at work. A 2005 Gallup Organization report found that the average employee uses office computers for non-work activity about 75 minutes per day and a 2006 Web Sense survey reported that the average time accessing non-work-related websites at work is 3.06 hours. This means that 24 percent of time accessing the Internet is non-work related. The challenge for organizations is to define a reasonable amount of time and when cyber-loafing is a problem.
Risk	What's the cost of doing nothing? In the Gallup report the aggregate cost of this behavior per year is equivalent to $6,250 per employee, at $20 an hour. The question for organizations is not only what tolerable usage levels are but also why employees are engaging in cyber-loafing. Is it due to boredom, not being challenged, not enjoying work, or perhaps not feeling engaged with the organization? One risk is becoming addicted to the Internet (pornographic sites, chat lines, game rooms, and virtual communities). The Internet can be a useful break from the day-to-day grind and in fact in small doses may actually help recharge an employee. However, when an employee spends 1-3 hours a day doing non-work activities the loss of productivity can be staggering.
Strategy	Three questions that senior leaders can ask: What is a tolerable and acceptable daily usage of the Internet for non-work related activities? Research suggests that allowing a person to switch their brain off for five to ten minutes every few hours may increase productivity and focus. Why do people cyber-loaf in our organization? Learn why people are doing it and determine if there are ways to control it. How can we limit cyber-loafing? Set clear web use policies. Have managers coach what is and is not appropriate use what and what is never acceptable. Teach that appropriate web use is being monitored and link it to job evaluations. Have IT generate usage reports and have managers speak to high users to ensure their time on the Internet is legitimate. Ensure that discipline and consequences for breaches are clearly stated and enforced.

FRS	Facts-Risks-Strategies
Fact	CNN has issued many news reports recently about the change in the levels of unemployment in the United States, such as reporting the nation¡¯s unemployment rate jumped from 7.6% to 8.1%, the highest level since late 1983. In Canada, the Financial Post reported the unemployment rate in Canada reached 6.2% and the number of unemployed over 1,124,000 -- 20,300 more than just two months earlier. The economy is shrinking and with this the size of the workforce required, resulting in more people losing their jobs.
Risk	What's the cost of doing nothing? The cost of doing nothing to positively address talent management in economic strain may not be obvious. The cost of the human factor is difficult to calculate because there are so many variables, such as lost hours of production because of employees¡¯ fear of losing their jobs, grieving over peers who lost their jobs, stress, and the side effects behaviors such as addictive disorders people use to cope with stress. The loss of critical organizational intelligence as organizations cut head counts in an effort to keep the doors open is another example. Senior leaders who understand the importance of talent management know full well how they behave today will influence how loyal their workforce will be when the economy changes.
Strategy	Perhaps there¡¯s no better time than now for an organization to put in place a full engagement strategy. Many organizations are facing the challenge of doing more with less, so to be successful they need the full commitment of their workforce. Five considerations for talent management in times of Economic strain: Senior leadership should reviewing their core values and remind management teams and the workforce this is who the company is and will continue to be in both the good and challenging times. Make a commitment to deal with employee concerns as they come up. Put in place a clearly defined communications strategy so all employees are getting accurate and meaningful information. Use Action Learning to get employees ¨C who are the subject matter experts ¨C in one room to come up with recommendations to solve complex issues. Avoid the negative boomerang effect. Employees are fearful and managers need to be mindful not to use this fear as a way to control and manipulate them.

FRS	Facts-Risks-Strategies
Fact	In a landmark research project that involved over 90,000 employees from around the world, the Tower Perrin Organization reported that only 38% of employees believed their senior management was interested in their well being. That means that 72% of the workforce goes to work each day thinking that their senior management is not interested in their health and well being.
Risk	What's the cost of doing nothing? This research provides insight into one of the reasons employees are not engaged in their workplace. When employees do not believe their senior management is interested in their well being this perception can influence their discretionary effort (the effort each employee has within them to go the extra mile). For example, an employee does their assigned work in 10 hours but if they were motivated and really wanted to they could do it in five hours. However, they have learned to pace themselves because they are interested in doing the minimum required amount to get a paycheque. By doing nothing there is clearly a lost opportunity to engage the workforce, along with associated costs in dollars and sense of pride and ownership.
Strategy	Senior leaders can: Accept that their behavior will influence employee perception and there is a connection between this and performance results. Be accessible and approachable to all employees.   Understand the barriers that have influenced employee perception about senior leadership. Take action to remove barriers. Understand that engaging a workforce is perhaps one of the best investments in time any senior manager can make. Self-evaluate and ask yourself, "What do I do to motivate people to go the extra mile?" Take time to recognize good work formally and informally. Spend time communicating and sharing information. Become educated on what dollars are being lost because of disengagement and educate managers as to what they can do to motivate a workforce and the risks and cost of doing nothing. If at a loss as to where to start, get some coaching.

FRS	Facts-Risks-Strategies
Fact	An article in the Wall Street Journal in November 2008 reported that a survey by Accenture suggested that just 13% of respondents said they were actively looking for a new job, down from 30% the last time Accenture conducted a similar survey in 2005. The economy has once again become a motivator to stick with a job whether you like it or not.
Risk	What's the cost of doing nothing? A survey of 1.2 million employees at 52 primarily Fortune 1000 companies from 2001 through 2004 reported that in 85% of these companies morale of new employees took a sharp decline after six months of being hired and continued to deteriorate for years afterward. The survey suggested the driving agent for this decrease was ineffective management. This would suggest more employees are feeling trapped, with nowhere to go, and unhappy with their management, the result being lower motivation and career satisfaction with employees doing only what they perceive they need to do to stay employed.
Strategy	It¡¯s the perfect time for an organization to look at how effectively it¡¯s managing its workforce and how engaged and trusting its workforce is. Keeping the talent you want in your organization satisfied provides an immediate benefit, as it will help engage and motivate your workforce, and when the markets improve you will have built loyalty and will have more opportunity to retain your top talent. Turnover is not always a bad thing, provided you are turning over your most ineffective performers and replacing them with more productive and effective ones.

FRS	Facts-Risks-Strategies
Fact	In 2007, the Department of Education in Nova Scotia concluded, based on research it conducted, that investing in professional development (e.g., core competency role specific training) is three times as important to an organization¡¯s economic growth as investing in physical capital. This kind of investment has been linked to increasing employee engagement such as building employee loyalty and increasing productivity.
Risk	What's the cost of doing nothing? Often one of the first areas in financial cuts is professional development because it¡¯s looked at as not a necessity and cutting it from the budget is not viewed as being any risk to day-to-day operations. However, one risk often not calculated is the intangible human will. A motivated and engaged employee is more likely to work to their full capacity and potential compared to one who is not. If an employee feels they are valued and important enough for the organization to invest in them they are more likely to give back their best to the organization.
Strategy	Any organization will benefit from professional development that¡¯s clearly defined and linked to developing defined core competencies. This facilitates development of employee functions, promotes career planning, and may facilitate team building. A professional development strategy will net more return if it is well thought out rather than having employees attend random courses where the links are not clear and the return on investment is not measured. Organizations need to do professional development audits to evaluate the benefits of training and to determine how much retention a program is providing.