letter from the editor
THE MAGAZINE OF
HUMAN RESOURCES
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP VOLUME 35 / NUMBER 5 APRIL 2018
Publisher: Jill Harris, Lester Communications Inc.
Managing Editor: Liz Bernier, HRPA
Legal Editor: Malcolm MacKillop, Shields O’Donnell MacKillop LLP
In every one of the past 40-plus issues of HR Professional that
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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Jason Beeho, Levitt LLP
Dean Bulloch, MBA, CHRE,
School of Business & Hospitality,
Conestoga College Institute
Cheryl Fullerton, Corus Entertainment Inc.
Julie Giraldi, OMERS
John Hamovitch, Intelex Technologies
Paul Klein, Impakt
Dr. Claudette Knight, DBA, Msc., MBA,
Meridian
Charles Marful, Ernst & Young
Nan Oldroyd
Anthony Papa, Federal-Mogul Motorparts
Laura L. Randell, B.A., CHRE, SEEC
Schulich School of Business
Jose Tolovi Neto, Great
Place to Work® Canada
HR PROFESSIONAL is published 13 times per year for the
Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA).
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Publisher: Jill Harris
EDITORIAL
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and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the publisher or HRPA.
Business Savvy
I’ve worked on, we’ve interviewed a senior-level HR professional
for the “Meet the HR Influencers” column (it was previously
known as the “Interview with an HR Hero” column).
We always make a point to ask our interviewees what they feel is
the most important skill or competency for an HR professional to
possess to be successful in their careers. Almost every single person
– and these are people who have all been tremendously successful
in their own HR careers – have responded with some variation of
the same answer: business acumen. In our last issue, Ernie Gross,
CHRE, with TD Branch Banking, said, “Understanding the business,
the industry and the client is very important for success in
HR.”
For this issue of HR Professional, we are focusing on the
“Business of People.” In our cover feature, Melissa Campeau asked
several Canadian business leaders – including presidents, chief
executive officers, chief operating officers and chief revenue officers
– about where they feel HR contributes the most value in
their respective organizations and how their HR functions allow
their businesses to be more competitive. Their responses varied
in specifics, but a basic theme throughout the article is that HR
professionals must thoroughly understand the business they’re in.
Flip over to page 12 to start reading.
Changing topics, I would like to offer my sincerest thanks to
the current Editorial Advisory Board of HR Professional magazine.
Each year, we have a fantastic and in-depth meeting to discuss
possible topics for the magazine, and all members are endlessly
helpful and full of ideas for articles that will benefit HRPA members
and other readers. Every time I reach out to look for feedback,
a source or a suggestion, I get a quick response back and all the
help I need. The service term for our current board is coming to
an end; if you or someone you know is interested in serving on
the Editorial Advisory Board, please send me an email and I’m
happy to give you more information. And to anyone on the current
board, I hope that you consider serving another term.
It has truly been a joy to work with you!
Enjoy this issue of HR Professional, and we’ll be back in May with a
closer look at how to manage the “portfolio career” and a non-traditional
workforce in today’s Gig Economy.
Happy reading,
Jill Harris n
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