Building a foundation of respect - Part 14 | BuildForce Canada

Building a foundation of respect - Part 14


Welcome to the BuildForce blog on Respectful Workplaces! Here we explore issues and provide advice, research, tools, and checklists – everything our industry needs to create respectful and inclusive workplaces where everyone can succeed. Who will benefit? Leaders, managers, HR staff, and anyone who wants to understand how to create and support a Respectful and Inclusive Workplace. To meet the challenges of the 21st century, the Canadian construction and maintenance industry must be able to recruit and retain workers with a diversity of backgrounds such as Indigenous people, women, immigrants, and young workers. This means building respectful, safe and inclusive workplaces where all workers can succeed. Some of these challenges are: A quarter of a million skilled workers retiring over the next decade. Increased globalization demands more awareness of different cultures. The changing needs of a changing workforce. Increased demands for corporate social responsibility such as fairness and equity.

What can an effective Respectful and Inclusive Workplace Program deliver? The BuildForce Canada Respectful Workplace Online Assessment Tool ~ Release date - late 2018 ~ The Respectful Workplace Assessment Tool allows organization leadership to assess their progress toward a Respectful and Inclusive Workplace and benchmark their progress confidentially against other construction organizations.Each month we will feature an "Assessment question of the month."  So make sure to be a regular visitor! Assessment question of the month:Does your organization link the creation of/support for a respectful and inclusive workplace to your organization's core values, vision and mission? Watch for the release of the BuildForce Canada Online Respectful and Inclusive Workplace Toolkit, including The Respectful Workplace Online Assessment Tool: to assist organization leadership in assessing their current situation and identifying where they may need to make changes; The Respectful and Inclusive Workplace Training Course: to train workers on how to create and support a respectful and inclusive workplace; and The Respectful Workplace Policy Framework and Implementation Guide: to assist organizations in creating and implementing a policy that supports a respectful and inclusive workplace.

Research shows that for a policy or any initiative to be effective, people must be able to see how it supports or is linked to the organization's core values, vision and mission.

Here are two examples of corporate mission statements and core values. It's easy to see how a Respectful and Inclusive Workplace Program would support these corporate missions and core values.

The Microsoft Mission Statement: "Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more."

One of Microsoft's Core Values is "Diversity and Inclusion:"

  • "Explore how we maximize very person's contribution - from our employees to our customers - so that the way we innovate naturally includes diverse thought."

The Starbucks Mission Statement: "To inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time."

One of Starbucks' Core Values is "Our Partners:"

  • "We're called Partners because it's not just a job, it's our passion.
  • Together, we embrace diversity to create a place where each of us can be ourselves.
  • We always treat each other with respect and dignity.
  • And we hold each other to that standard."

World Day for Health & Safety at Work  April 28 The International Labour Organization celebrates World Day for Health & Safety at Work on April 28 to promote the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. It is an awareness-raising campaign to focus on emerging trends in the field of occupational safety and health and on the magnitude of work-related injuries, diseases and fatalities worldwide. Research indicates that a respectful and inclusive workplace can support efforts to improve health and safety performance through increased employee engagement. The Institute for Work & Health undertook the Ontario Leading Indicators Project (OLIP) between 2011 and 2013 to develop a simple tool that would predict a firm's workplace injury performance. The tool was tested on 2,000 Ontario (Canada) firms from 10 different sectors, all firm sizes and across all regions of Ontario.  The study identified employee engagement as one of the leading indicators of workplace injury performance.  The study defines employee engagement as a workplace that supports collaboration, cooperation, trust and open communication – all characteristics of a Respectful and Inclusive Workplace:  1. Employees are involved in decisions affecting their daily work. 2. Working relationship are cooperative. 3. There is a high level of trust in the employee/employer relationship at the company. 4. Communication is open, and employees feel free to voice concerns and make suggestions.

OUR NEXT INSTALLMENT: Measuring the effectiveness of a Respectful and Inclusive Workplace Plan or set of objectives.

PREVIOUS INSTALLMENT: A respectful and inclusive workplace contributes to the bottom line

Read from the beginning. Click here to start at Part 1.

Resources:

Join the conversation: What are your organization's core values? Leave your comments below.

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This project has been funded by Status of Women Canada.