First of all, we’d like to thank the Vancouver Canucks for a fantastic Stanley Cup run!  Despite a heartbreaking game 7 loss, the hope, camaraderie, pride and joy the team inspired in the city was truly amazing.   At the end of the day, hockey is just a game (though a religion to some!), but the work the players do off the ice – getting involved in the community, visiting sick children in hospitals, donating time and money to local charities – these are the things that make our players heroes. Thank you Vancouver Canucks for a great season!

Unfortunately, not everyone celebrated the Stanley Cup run with such enthusiasm.  A group of angry and misguided people planned to wreck havoc on Vancouver streets, regardless of a Canucks win or loss.  Many of their shameful acts of destruction, looting and vandalism were caught on video and have been broadcast locally and internationally via news outlets, YouTube and various social media.

We were asked a very interesting, hypothetical (yet possible) HR question – Can an employer fire an employee who is captured on film participating in the Stanley Cup vandalism?

A special thank you to the police, firefighters, health care workers and the hundreds of Good Samaritans who fought to protect our city and restore order to Vancouver.
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Cissy Pau, Principal Consultant for Vancouver-based Clear HR Consulting, recently attended a human resources seminar on the HR issues that Vancouver businesses need to be prepared for the 2010 Olympics Games.

Some things to plan for:

• Transportation disruption - Road closures & parking bans will make
  it potentially difficult for employees, customers and suppliers to get to
  your office and vice versa.  VANOC is hoping to reduce traffic on our city
  roads by 30% to lessen traffic congestion.

• Rush hour - Businesses can expect rush hour conditions 24 hours a
  day in Downtown Vancouver and rush hour to start at 2:00 pm elsewhere around
  town.  VANOC is encouraging employees to start work prior to 7:00 am and
  leaving before 2:00 pm.  With most Olympic events occurring in the
  afternoon, it’s anticipated that getting to work in the morning should be
  ok, but leaving work in the afternoon may be a problem.

• Employees working from home - Many employers are encouraging
  employes to work from home during the Olympics.  If you do this, please be
  aware that the home office would be considered an alternate work location
  and would be subject to WorkSafeBC rules and regulations.

• Internet access - With over 15,000 journalists and hundreds of
  thousands of people in Vancouver who will be accessing the internet, there
  may not be enough band width to handle the increased volume.  Companies need
  to have a contingency plan in place in case internet or email access is
  hampered.

• Cell phone access - As with internet access, the huge volume of
  people accessing the cell phone network in Vancouver could negatively affect
  our cell networks.  Contingency plans may be needed in case data devices
  such as Blackberries do not function properly and to ensure that employees
  can be contacted if cell phones don’t work.

• Staff training - With many planned and unexpected absences which
  will occur during the Olympics, companies need to start cross-training staff
  now so that these absences can be accommodated.

• Time Off / Absence Policies - At this point, it is unknown how
  difficult it will be for employees to get to work.  Policies may need to be
  developed to deal with unexpected absences (e.g. if an employee shows up to
  work 3 hours late because they were using public transit, will this be
  considered paid time or unpaid time).

• Communication - Be sure to advise employees, customers and suppliers
  of your plans for business during the Olympics so that they know what they
  can expect.  Those who are outside of Vancouver may not realize that service
  could be impacted.

Some things that companies are doing during the Olympics:

• Encouraging transit use and car pooling
• Allowing telecommuting so that employees can work from home rather than fight traffic to come to work
• Encouraging employees to take vacation during that time or to flex their hours
• Cross-training staff now so that unexpected or planned absences can be accommodated.
• Hosting Olympic-themed events for employees & clients
• Ensuring there is a TV at the office to watch highly coveted events and to cheer on the home team!
• Purchasing 6-week 2010 Transit Games Passes for employees during the Games

July 1 saw the beginning of the NHL’s annual free agency period, which is often filled with lots of great stories from the HR perspective, including the Vancouver Canucks’ signing of the Sedin brothers just prior to the beginning of free agency.

We often consult on our client’s pay strategy: we tell them that they don’t have to pay at the top of the market, but they do have to pay their employees fairly.  Case in point is the signing of the Sedin twins by the Vancouver Canucks for $30.5 million each over 5 years – an average of $6.1 million per season. Compare that to the subsequent free agent signings of Marian Hossa with the Chicago Blackhawks for $62.8 million over 12 years, Marian Gaborik with the New York Rangers for $37.5 million over 5 years, and Mike Cammalleri with the Montreal Canadiens for $30 million over 5 years.

The point production and the durability of the Sedin brothers was greater than these other players, yet they signed for the same or less money than these other players.  Why?

“We never said we were guys that wanted to go for the big money,” said Henrik Sedin, who added that no-movement clauses in the new deals were a key component. “Our families are important to us and we’ve been there a long time. For us it’s important to find a place we were happy. But at the same time we wanted to be treated fairly, and I think we have been.”

The Sedins wanted to be treated fairly – they didn’t need to be paid at the top of the market, but they did need to feel like they were treated with respect.  The happiness and stability of their families was also critical, and so they sought and received no-movement clauses (i.e. they cannot be traded to another team without their consent).

Bottom line – regardless of the level of compensation your organization is paying your staff, they need to be treated fairly when it comes to compensation.  Understand what the market is paying, clarify how you want to pay in relation to the market, be fair, and offer other non-financial incentives to make your organization a desirable place to work.

The Vancouver Olympic Committee (Vanoc) has released its 10 suggestions about how local businesses can help out during the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Many involve setting human resources policies, including businesses altering their work days, mandating vacation or allowing telecommuting.

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We’re often asked how important pay is to find and keep employees in your company. What we find is that you must pay your employees fairly based on market conditions, but you can never win if you compete based on money alone.

We think an excellent and very public example is going on in the National Hockey League (NHL).  Mats Sundin is the most coveted free agent on the hockey market.  He was offered $10 million per year in salary by the Vancouver Canucks, which would make him the highest paid player in the NHL, even though his production isn’t the highest and he’s already 37 years old and is in the twilight of his career.

Now if pay was the most important factor, Sundin would have jumped for the pay cheque immediately upon receiving the offer on July 1.  However, we’re now at September 9, and he is nowhere near close to making a decision as to which team he wants to play for, or whether he wants to play hockey at all next year.  

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I saw an interesting sports story today.  According to TSN, the LPGA “will require golfers to speak English starting in 2009, with players who have been members for two years facing suspension if they can’t pass an oral evaluation of English skills. The rule is effective immediately for new players.”

This is interesting from an HR perspective.  It raises the question of “bona fide” occupational requirements; i.e. what can an employer reasonably require of a worker to perform their job.
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