Emerging talent brings transformative, future-proof skills into human resources realm
By: Namish Modi
An entrepreneurialspirit, inquisitiveness anda knack forproblem-solving are just some of the skills
ݮƵ Artsstudentshave that makethem attractivetothehumanresourcesteamat
“University of ݮƵ Arts students tend tobring multi-faceted approachesto problems,” saysAdam
Pearson(BSc’07),assistant manager of HR atTMMC.“Artsstudentsprovidevarious waysto present information, including using visuals that reach peopleindifferent ways.Theyfind unique and effective ways to get the message across appropriately.”
Some of the human resources work that Arts students assist with include employment letters, recruiting and social media.
Students have helped to improve work processesatTMMClike pay stub mailouts and contract renewals.
“Studentswork together to fix problems.When they complete their work term,they’ve improved our workplace in their time here,” Pearson says.
First work term student excels inperson in Winter 2021
VanessaVanpopic, a second-year Arts and Business student (Sociology)worked in-person for her first work term atTMMCfrom January to April 2021.
Vanpopicsays very strong public health safety protocols weredeveloped andimplementedin response to the pandemic, making herexperience asan analyst in policy development and performance managementa fantastic one.
“When I come to work, I feel safe,” saysVanpopic, during her last week atTMMCin April.
Since her work term wasmostly inperson, it allowed herto tour the manufacturing shopandprocess hard copy paperwork, which wouldn't be possible in a remote environment.
Aspart of the term,Vanpopicworked on severalprojectswhich helped improve human resource processes. This included cost improvements for mailing processes and creating learning resources.
These learning resourceshelp employees navigate remote work tools such as Teams.
According to Pearson,Vanpopic’sprojects areimportantas they help build trust internally.Vanpopicalso presented some of her work to the entire department, which she describes as achallenging but fulfilling assignment.
Vanpopicsaysthe work termallowed herto problem-solve moreeffectively as well as incorporate feedbackinto her work.
“I neverfelt like I was just an intern during my co-op term,” saysVanpopic. “I learned that,if you have an idea, a suggestion or some sort of feedback, express that opinion, because your opinion isunique,and your perspective is valuable.”
Perseverance is an additional skillthe organizationis looking for, according to Pearson.
“We do go through a lot of review cycleswith ourprojects,” Pearson adds.“Somebody coming in knowing that it’s going to take a while to get to the end result, but willing to put in the work;they’ll always be successful.”
Pearson says hetriesto helpstudents determinewhat theirwork termwilllook likeand allowsthem to express what they’d like to learn,and how they would like to develop.
The pandemic and its implications
Like every other industry, theglobalpandemic hashada major impact inHR operations.
Whileextensive health andsafety protocolshave been putinplace to protect employeesand the community,manytraining and other processes areprovidedvirtually,when possible.
“I think the technology weuse todeliver services and HR is changing drastically,” Pearson adds. “And the pandemic is forcing it to changemore quickly.”
Students coming out of the workforce who have strong technical literacy will make the transitioneven
moresmoothly, Pearson says.
“There’s a whole group of people coming through the university systems who have new levels of knowledge about new technologies and new ways of doing things,” headds.
“Arts studentscan come with a multi-faceted background on how to deal with the human interaction piece.I think that’s the injection that the workforce needs.”
More than300 Arts students in theHuman Resources Managementprogramareequipped to support organizations with their workforce planning needs.
D2L
“The past year and a half has been uncertain and ever-changing;
but a constant has been the talented students we’ve hired into our Co-op Program,” says Nicky Foster, People and Culture Generalist with D2L.
“Specifically, in our department we have had students supporting talent acquisition to continue to ramp up our hiring needs, leading diversity and inclusion initiatives to ensure our employees feel a sense of inclusion and belonging at D2L, and assisting our Business Partners to support their business functions so that they may continue to support the growing organization. Our co-ops have been remarkable additions to our team and many of them continue to stay with us part-time or even full-time with they graduate!”
Ricoh
At Ricoh, students in human resources engage in several key activities like coordinating and managing employee surveys,
administrating daily tasks like background checks and extracting reports.
Jessi Gaidhu, HR operations manager at Ricoh, says that co-op students bring “different perspectives” to HR at Ricoh and provide fresh eyes and perspective in terms of day-to-day work. Some skills that Gaidhu says are important in terms of HR are adaptability, fast-learning and fluidity on technical platforms.
Our (co-op) student coordinated project activities within HR and Change Management, developed communication, cultivated relationships with various stakeholders and gained exposure within an enterprise transformational program.