HR firms are a key component of the talent management industry. They have to deal with many different aspects of managing talent, including hiring, training, and developing.
The HR industry is undergoing a profound change as technology advances. Employers can save time and money by seeking the help of Professional HR firms. The Staff Room, led by Lisa Smith is providing guidance to Businesses and helping them to fix various HR issues.
Path to Success
Lisa Smith Started her career at a firm with no HR and she helped that firm to grow but she ran into a few problems, including the primary owner being charged with a few counts of harassment. Lisa was in Centennial College at that time doing a Human Resources Management course. She soon left that firm to continue her studies which led her to University and she got a HR Law Certificate for Senior HR Professionals at Osgoode Hall Law, York University. After Getting that Degree, Lisa kept learning through McMaster and a few other Programs and attending Webinars. She encourages others to do the same.
Lisa founded her Business (The Staff Room) in 2000 – however, it has gone through a few hiccup changes and it has been successful since about 2014. In 2016, The Staff Room was the lead for recruitment/staff for the NBA All Star games in Toronto and that helped a lot. They reported to the Global head office and not the Canadian office. It was different having over 300 employees for about 2 weeks as they also looked after the staff for getting everything set up and taken down. Her Company has been on the go since but still experiencing ups and downs.
Lisa started her Business while providing recruiting services, then as she completed courses, she began to add these services for customers. The Staff Room is now at the point that it has a few niches and specialities.
HR Firm with Distinctive Services
Lisa Asserts, “The Staff Room offers many services and has developed a division (Advanced HR) which has bundled services and price per head for all sized firms. This is what we heard employers wanted, that is what we have just developed and will release in 2023. www.advancedhr.ca is the website, still in draft, but will be up and running completely as of Jan. 1, 2023. Advanced HR is available in “test” form in case you want to check it out!”
They offer policies and procedures, terminations and hiring packages, including contracts, WSIB and health and safety, recruiting, various HR advice and will perform an HR audit with a full report. They also work with various lawyers and law firms to offer reduced legal fees and legal exposure. That sets it apart and is very unique. Working with lawyers helps clients and reduces their legal fees which is very helpful when client’s need an employment lawyer, they have already been briefed and this cuts in time with them, reducing costs. Win win win for everyone!
Lisa asserts, “Opening up in the East end has some thinking we are not able to continue to support the West end…WRONG! We are across Ontario, but our niche areas are Durham Region, Mississauga, Brampton, Toronto and the GTA. We have served the Barrie area and the Peterborough/Lindsay areas. We are open to learning our clients needs and go from there. If we can not help, we will recommend another HR firm that can.”
“Clients’ needs are forever changing in the evolving world of COVID and you have to keep up with it all. So do the clients or they can get into bad situations and lawsuits. We try to avoid all that as much as possible. We are not perfect, neither are the clients. So I have to say that they change often and we have to sometimes rethink our position, next move, next need for the client and go from there.” she says
The Staff Room first does the HR audit to see what and where there are issues, if there are and how or if we can help. If a client is not happy with any of our services, we will revisit that and see how and/or where we went wrong and correct it. There are times people do not want to hear the truth, that is something we can not help, we deliver the truth, it is a matter of how do you get the client to swallow the bad new pill but we do make sure we deliver it with some honey to help. If it is an issue with not delivering something that is paid for, then we would refund.
Leader’s way to handle the Disagreements
Lisa believes that you should never take any dispute personally! If someone is not happy, we listen and see how to make them happy, but again we, nor they, are perfect. We listen, learn and correct and grow. People that lose their job are not happy and are going to write all kinds of nasty things on social media. That is them venting, as long as people know this is venting and not all facts, then there is nothing to do other than thank them for their feedback and take into consideration what they have to say.
Keeping in mind that employees also need to be asked for their feedback from time to time as they then feel they are being heard and will have a stronger and more positive attitude towards you, the firm, staff and management. You can only correct what you know about, otherwise, everyone wants to make comments, let them.
If you know you are not the things they allude too then who cares, let them vent and respond by thanking them. Learn and take what they are saying with a grain of salt and carry on. When people have just been terminated, they are angry, they are going to vent and they are not going to tell the full truth. They are going to make up a lot to try and make you look bad.
Responding a few days later is not a bad thing, as they have vented and you have let them cool down before thanking them and moving past it. There is no such thing as a guarantee in workplace motivation. One person with a bad attitude or bad day….is all it takes to spread, greet them with a good morning and try to help them turn the frown upside down is all you can do. There are group or team activities we recommend helping keep morale positive. We must see what is going on, who is involved and then make recommendations from there.
Words of Wisdom
You will fail, that is the truth and a fact, but it is how you get back up that matters! Dust yourself off, learn from your mistake(s) and plow forward!!
