Legacy Bowes Blog

Some hope to return to a pre-pandemic “normal” in the workplace, meanwhile continuing to embrace the changes and accommodations made during the pandemic can help retain employees and navigate current difficult situations.   

We’ve seen many changes in the workplace over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the very least, how employers have navigated it by accommodating their employees and tasks shows both tenacity and resilience. With many now returning to in-office work, let’s talk about what workplace changes have stuck, how to navigate them, and when Human Resources supports can assist in transitioning teams into the new normal.

Photo courtesy of Chartered Professionals in Human Resources Manitoba

Legacy Bowes co-founder Barbara Bowes became the most recent recipient of the prestigious Legacy Award from the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR) Manitoba on June 1, 2022. This award recognizes HR Professionals who have personified community and corporate leadership, advanced the HR profession and inspired others toward success through their lived example.

The Professional Excellence Awards are organized by CPHR Manitoba and recognize individuals who apply their HR expertise to the objectives of their organization and the people they support.

Although human resources professionals spend a lot of time building structures, policy, processes, and procedures, we have to admit that we also spend a great deal of time navigating the gray of human behaviour and how to deal with issues when they arise. While there are judgement calls that need to be made when dealing with people, those decisions should be consistent, fair, and defensible.

At no time is this more true than when confronted with a workplace complaint.

There are many different complaint or grievance procedures that any business or organization could follow. When deciding on your course of action, there are a couple of factors you should keep in mind.

Photo courtesy of the University of Winnipeg

Legacy Bowes is pleased to announce that Jennefer Nepinak will be joining the organization as the new Vice-President, Strategic Partnerships and Reconciliation on July 1, 2022.

Nepinak – who is a proud member of the Minegozhiibe Anishinabe (Pine Creek First Nation) – brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience from her previous roles as the Associate Vice-President, Indigenous Engagement at the University of Winnipeg, as well as past leadership roles at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, and with various First Nation governments, as well as with the governments of Canada and Manitoba. She has also served as a board member with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Elders Council, the Treaty Legacy Foundation, Rossbrook House, the Helen Betty Osborne Memorial Foundation, The University of Winnipeg Board of Regents, the Canadian Education Coalition, and Manitoba Hydro.

“I am very excited to join the Legacy Bowes team. I admire the business approach that works to encourage Indigenous perspectives application in all that it does,” Nepinak said.

COVID-19 has removed many people from the workforce. Whether they are retiring or joining the gig economy, the results are the same: less people are applying for available positions and candidates are asking for higher compensation packages.

Driven by news reports and the high Consumer Price Index, existing employees are also asking for more in compensation. 

These scenarios are putting employers in a tough spot. Balancing the wish to hire and retain fantastic people who can move the organization forward with wanting to keep a lid on payroll costs can lead to tough decisions with lasting consequences.