As the Canadian bio-economy competes on a global scale for talent, employers must move beyond traditional benefit plan management and instead of making price- focused decisions, shift their evaluation to enhance plan scope and its contribution to the total compensation package and employee well-being. An important aspect of this practice is remaining current with trends…
Unlike mentoring, which relies on an individual’s specific knowledge and wisdom to help career development, coaching focuses on the facilitation and development of skills, and is more task or process oriented. With the help of a workplace coach, employees can achieve short-term goals such as acquiring small blocks of knowledge or developing and improving skills….
Earlier this year, BioTalent Canada announced a new project to help connect and advance women in biotech. The data presented in the 2013 labour market study – Sequencing the Data showed an alarming trend within Canada’s bio-economy; while over 60% of physical and life sciences post-secondary graduates in Canada are women, the number of companies…
Introducing and maintaining an employee benefits plan can be a challenge for any business; and for small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the balance between employee satisfaction and bottom-line is only the tip of the iceberg. With a major and rapidly approaching demographic-shift, corresponding rise in healthcare costs, and employee absenteeism, presenteeism and happiness becoming prominent…
Our country has a rich history of innovation. From peanut butter and paint rollers to advances in medical technologies and innovative therapies – Canada has its fair share of talented inventors and researchers. When it comes to pharmaceutical innovation, the list is impressive. Right now there are over 7,000 potential new therapies in development worldwide….
I tell my kids that under no circumstances should my obituary include the word ‘Lawyer.’ Instead, I prefer ‘Problem-solver,’ ‘Servant Leader’ as they are more accurate. Lawyer is a label and a very limiting one and I want my title to reflect the kinds of problems I solve – governance, operational, or stakeholder engagement issues….
Organizational announcements might not initially seem like it, but they serve as important messaging for both the news consuming public as well as the investor relations community. The key to maximizing the impact of an executive announcement is in the presentation of the information and the reasoning behind its issuance. Following are the top three…
Recruitment, selection and hiring are the principal human resources (HR) activities of bio-economy companies. With best practices in place, bio-economy companies can successfully attract and hire candidates with the right skills to help the organization grow and foster a culture of innovation. BioTalent Canada will be featuring a three part series to help guide any…
More than a third of Canadian biotechnology companies are dealing with skills shortages — a worrying trend that is predicted to continue. Access to skilled professionals is essential for biotech companies to execute their innovation agendas and to drive new products and services to market. It also helps secure and build Canada’s global leadership and…
Several recent court cases in the United States focus on trade secret misappropriation by employees departing technology companies. These high profile American cases are a reminder that Canadian companies face the same issues. Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada, have held that an employer’s trade secrets are valuable commercial assets that employees must…
