Contents:

• Welcome
• Upcoming Events
• What's New
• GrandMaster Update

NOTE: This archive references other sites on the World Wide Web. From time to time, an article's link may be moved or deleted from the host site. If you encounter an out-of-date link, please e-mail the payrollnews@canpay.com.

Welcome!

November 2004 - Welcome to the latest edition of The Payroll News. As always, please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends and associates who are interested in keeping up with the latest changes in the Payroll industry. Or better yet, subscribe them for free using the Tell Others About Us link.

Upcoming Events

Listed here are recent changes in legislation on Federal and Provincial levels that may impact your payroll calculations. Please view the following list for changes that affect your region.

FEDERAL:

October 13, 2004 - CRA and PSAC reach tentative collective agreement - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has reached a tentative collective agreement with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). The negotiating teams worked diligently over the long weekend and into this week and arrived at the new four-year agreement on October 13. (Full Story - 342 Words)

October 6, 2004 - Negotiations to resume between the CRA and the PSAC - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has announced that it will be resuming negotiations with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) in an effort to conclude a collective agreement for employees represented by that Union. (Full Story - 194 Words)

October 21, 2004 - Minister Volpe announces funding for literacy projects - The Honourable Joe Volpe, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, today announced funding of almost $ 23 million for 252 literacy projects across Canada . These projects will help thousands of Canadians to improve their literacy skills -- skills that will help them find and keep meaningful employment. (Full Story - 384 Words)

Alberta:

September 30, 2004 - Human Resources and Employment's 2003-04 Annual Report - New benefits, better employment and occupational training, and safer workplaces were some of the key achievements of the Ministry of Human Resources and Employment last year as highlighted in the ministry's annual report. "We invested over one billion dollars last year to introduce and deliver programs that helped Albertans become more self-sufficient and ensure Alberta's workplaces were safer," said Alberta Human Resources and Employment Minister Clint Dunford. (Full Story - 695 Words)

October 2004 - Registering for employer sessions just got easier - Now available with online registration, a variety of workshops and seminars exist to assist employers in working with the Alberta WCB. Workshops are offered on a regular basis in Edmonton and Calgary and in various locations throughout the province, based on demand. Customized training can be arranged to meet your individual needs. (Full Story - 287 Words)

British Columbia:

October 13, 2004 - B.C. businesses benefit from innovative online services - In partnership with the Canada Revenue Agency and the Workers' Compensation Board, the Province has officially launched the OneStop Business Registry, an improved e-government service that meets modern business needs. The new online service will make it even faster, cheaper, and easier to do business in British Columbia. The service provides one-stop access to several levels of government. (Full Story - 400 Words)

October 2004 - New industry grouping initiative may affect the location of your claim - A new WCB initiative may affect which WCB office you deal with for claims and related health and safety services. Claims are now allocated on the basis of industry instead of geography, and we are forming industry teams at area offices to support those groupings. We call this new initiative industry grouping, or segmentation. (Full Story - 238 Words)

October 18, 2004 - WCB and small business achieve new levels of cooperation - The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) and the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) have joined forces to help small businesses use the compensation system more effectively. "Efforts of the WCB in meeting with and, most importantly, listening to the CFIB and other small business associations have begun to pay off," said Laura Jones, Vice-President of the CFIB. (Full Story - 504 Words)

Manitoba:

October 1, 2004 - Province seeks input on minimum wage - Labour and Immigration Minister Nancy Allan announced today that Manitoba is seeking public and stakeholder input on the minimum wage. Stakeholders and the general public are invited to provide their input by Dec. 1. The most recent increases in Manitoba’s minimum wage were 25 cents an hour each in April 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, bringing the rate to the present $7 an hour. (Full Story - 275 Words)

October 1, 2004 - Province endorses call centre industry commitment to increase aboriginal employment - Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Oscar Lathlin and Advanced Education and Training Minister Diane McGifford today announced joint funding for the Manitoba Customer Contact Association (MCCA) to promote employment opportunities for Aboriginal people within the industry. "Our government is committed to improving Aboriginal employment opportunities," said Lathlin. "The implementation of the MCCA Aboriginal Workforce Strategy will build strong ties between the association and the Aboriginal community." (Full Story - 310 Words)

New Brunswick:

October 8, 2004 - Single digit unemployment rate / Province leads in employment, labour force growth - New Brunswick's unemployment rate dropped to single digits to stand at 9.6 per cent in September as the province led the country in employment and labour force growth on a year-over-year basis last month, Training and Employment Development Minister Margaret-Ann Blaney reported today. New Brunswick's employment growth last month was 3.8 per cent compared to the same month last year, while employment growth nationally was only 2 per cent. (Full Story - 388 Words)

October 28, 2004 - Reminder / Remembrance Day now a fully-paid statutory holiday (04/10/28) - The Department of Training and Employment Development reminds employers and workers that the Government of New Brunswick has added Remembrance Day to the list of paid public holidays covered under the Employment Standards Act beginning this year. The list of paid public holidays in New Brunswick now consists of seven days, including: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Canada Day, New Brunswick Day, Labour Day, Remembrance Day, and Christmas Day. (Full Story - 315 Words)

Northwest Territories:

October 21, 2004 - Consultation Paper Released On Labour Standards Act - A process of consultation on reforms to the Labour Standards Act was announced today by Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Charles Dent. This process is an opportunity for employers, employees and all residents to have input into changes made to the Act, said Minister Dent. The Department of Justice wants to hear their views, ideas and suggestions. The Labour Standards Act lays out employment standards for non-unionized businesses in the Northwest Territories. It was first enacted in 1968 and has been amended a number of times over the years. (Full Story - 272 Words)

Nova Scotia :

October 7, 2004 - Flexibility Improved for Pension Plan Administrators - The government introduced a bill today, Oct. 7, that would remove the requirement for pension plan administrators to provide unreduced early retirement benefits to members not eligible for those benefits, on full or partial wind-up of a pension plan. (Full Story - 333 Words)

October 19, 2004 - West Hants African Advisory Association to offer Employment Assistance Services on Government of Canada's behalf - HRSDC funding of $83,417 was announced today for the West Hants African Advisory Association to provide employment assistance services in Windsor, Nova Scotia. "The Government of Canada is committed to helping Nova Scotians acquire the skills and experience they need in today's labour market" said Scott Brison, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Member of Parliament for Kings-Hants. "The project is an excellent example of our commitment to help the African Nova Scotian community in West Hants to overcome employment barriers". (Full Story - 382 Words)

Prince Edward Island:

October 22, 2004 - Remembrance Day is a Statutory Holiday in PEI - November 11, 2004 will be the first Remembrance Day to be recognized as a paid statutory holiday in Prince Edward Island. Last year, the Honourable Elmer MacFadyen, Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs and Minister responsible for Labour, announced amendments to the Employment Standards Act effective January 1, 2004. These amendments included making Remembrance Day the sixth paid statutory holiday bringing Prince Edward Island in line with all Atlantic Provinces. (Full Story - 415 Words)

Ontario:

October 8, 2004 - McGuinty government helps employees and employers know their rights - The McGuinty government is helping to create fair workplaces and save business money by making available a new poster that outlines worker and employer rights and obligations, Labour Minister Chris Bentley announced today. "This new poster will promote greater awareness of how the Employment Standards Act helps both workers and employers, while helping to build strong communities," said Bentley. (Full Story - 300 Words)

October 20, 2004 - Labour minister to launch multilingual outreach and awareness program - Labour Minister Chris Bentley will launch an employment standards outreach and awareness program, including brochures in 20 languages, at the 3rd Annual Canadian Community Information and Referral Conference (CCIRC) in Toronto. (Full Story - 128 Words)

October 25, 2004 - McGuinty Government Makes It Easier For Ontario Workers To Understand Their Rights - The McGuinty government is raising awareness of employment standards law among vulnerable workers by making available much-needed information in 20 different languages, Labour Minister Chris Bentley said today. "The people in the province's diverse workforce want to understand their employment rights and obligations," Bentley said. "That is why we have created clear and concise brochures that explain key aspects of the Employment Standards Act in English, French and 18 other languages." (Full Story - 350 Words)

Saskatchewan:

October 8, 2004 - Saskatchewan job numbers jump in September - Saskatchewan's job numbers jumped in September, with one of the best job performances ever for that month. Statistics Canada figures released today show 493,400 people were working in Saskatchewan last month (seasonally unadjusted figures). That's the second highest figure for the month of September, almost matching the September 2002 record (493,700) and up 5,200 jobs from September of last year. (Full Story - 400 Words)

Yukon:

October 15, 2004 - Funding provided for Yukon labour market needs - HRSDC today announced funding of $70,553 for the Yukon Community Profiles Project in Whitehorse, Yukon. The Government of Yukon is also supporting the project with a contribution of $55,000. "This project will help communities throughout the Yukon to better prepare for human resource and labour market challenges," said Parliamentary Secretary Larry Bagnell. "The Government of Canada is pleased to provide support to organizations that work in partnership with other local stakeholders to increase employment opportunities for Canadians." (Full Story - 546 Words)

The current release of GrandMaster Suite (4.00.05) incorporates a number of changes to make it even easier to use the program and perform your payroll tasks. Recent program changes since our last Payroll News issue include:

• Additional Fields and Categories Fields Labeled in Payroll Specific Information - The user-definable Additional Fields and Categories data fields (in the Payroll Specific Information dialog box) now have a method for adding meaningful descriptions. This makes it easier to determine the fields to which they relate. The Payroll Information dialog box has been modified to include a new tab (Field Descriptions) that houses the description fields for the Text (8), Dates (3) and Numbers (4) fields from the employee's Payroll Specific Information - Additional Fields tab. The Field Descriptions tab also includes fields to enter descriptions for the ten Categories fields found on the Categories tab within the Payroll Specific Information dialog box. Until defined, these description fields will read "Unassigned".
• Saskatchewan Teachers' Reports now available - You can now create the full range of Saskatchewan Teachers' reports as previous with GrandMaster II. Via the Additional Reports menu option in the Reports menu, you can create the STSC, STRP, STF/ICP, Group Life and Municipal Employees reports. Each report has its own tab that allows you to define the desired settings and save them for future use. This feature takes full advantage of the user-definable Additional Fields and Categories data fields located in the Payroll Specific Information dialog box.
• Cheque Register Report now sorts by Bank ID - When you print the Cheque Register Report you now have the option to sort the printed report by the employee Bank ID Number. This number is a 3-digit number that makes up part of the employee bank account and identifies the financial institution. When you choose this sort option the employee data, where bank account information exists, will be summarized in ascending order by their Bank ID Number. This is useful if you have the need to have the employee data summarized or grouped by the financial institution where their pay was sent.
• User ID not permitting assigned functionality - If you had a user ID setup to allow all program features, but only access to a specific group of employees, the program would not allow the user to calculate a payroll for the employees. This has been corrected so that the payroll can now be processed correctly based on the user's privileges.
• Transactions appearing in list after being deleted - If you entered several transactions for your employees (via the Hours Entry dialog box), deleted the transactions, then re-entered them, the deleted transactions would reappear in the list after returning from another employee. This has been corrected.
• Cheque Register not sorting correctly - If you were printing the Cheque Register Report and had selected the Employee Number sort option, the report would not accurately display the employee records. This has been corrected.
• Munisoft for Windows journal entry export record incorrect - When you created a journal entry export file using the Munisoft for Windows export format, the data was not written to the file as per the Munisoft record layout. This has been corrected.
  

Visit CanPay's News page and view the latest Release Notes for a complete listing of program changes.

Rating Performance Rating (Part 1 of 2)

We often say human resource management systems make organizations more effective. But simply creating systems and structures without making sure they work isn't enough. It's not my fault, but I'm truly embarrassed to confess that performance management is considered the worst managed of all human resource functions.

Let's face it. Complaints are commonplace. Performance measures are seen as more subjective than objective if they exist at all. Few managers receive training on the corporate performance philosophy let alone the implementation how-to's. Coaching and feedback skills are often left to chance.

In many case's, managers dread performance management and avoid it or are chronically late. I'm sure you know many employees who have wrung their hands in agony as the appraisal interview date crept closer and closer. Every employee has a scary tale to tell.

Performance management has a long history in the workplace. Top down management philosophies saw it as a way to tighten management control, stop bad performance and fix employees. Few people challenged these basic assumptions, but instead focused simply on how to improve the forms and rating accuracy.

Then, as with other social trends, we continued to "fix" the employee by focusing on their personal off hours. The result was a proliferation of employee benefit plans, including counseling in areas such as financial management, relationship problems and addictions.

It wasn't until the 1980s that accusations of discrimination made management realize there's more to performance than just efficiently completing work tasks. Researchers then studied the change in work tasks and focused on skills and competencies.

Traits, behaviours and situational factors became commonplace vocabulary. A flurry of new appraisal techniques and management systems; MBO (management by objectives), balanced scorecard and 360 degree (upward employee feedback) systems were proposed.

Today, many research studies have identified and proven direct concrete links between employee behaviour and customer satisfaction. As well, institutional investors are turning their sharp eyes toward valuing the more intangible features of corporations such as employee satisfaction and ethics. Finally, the global competitive marketplace is creating significant pressure to create and maintain a high performing workforce.

As a result, some companies such as General Electric have adopted the philosophy that failing to aggressively address the issues of poor performers, results in prejudicing good performers. Thus, they've turned to a forced ranking ABC system.

But no matter how many improvements are made to the performance management systems, problems may still appear. Some people try to beat the system, are skeptical and intentionally manipulate the system. Some critics even suggest management has an inherent conflict of interest because it is evaluated on its employees' performance.

So, it doesn't appear there's one clear, best choice of performance management methods. Success seems to have more to do with the confidence that management and employees have with the implementation process. And with the growing number of concerns regarding older workers, workplace diversity and the increase in lawsuits, we had better start paying more attention to how we actually implement our human resource programs.

Please return next month for the conclusion of this article.

Courtesy of Barbara J. Bowes - barb@bowesgroup.com