Future of Work

The 2021 edition of the Compensation Planning Outlook provides the key take-aways from our annual compensation survey and forecast.

Online experience  |  1-min read
September 29, 2020
Focus Area—Human Resources

One could be forgiven for being confused about Canada’s cannabis laws. Federally, the Cannabis Act sets the framework for how cannabis can be produced, distributed, sold and possessed in Canada.

Impact paper  |  16-min read
September 23, 2020
Focus Area—Inclusion

Legislative action is increasingly being used around the world to bring more women into the boardroom. Looking at the actions of peer countries helps us better understand international progress on women’s representation. These trends and insights can inform the decisions Canadian leaders need to make.

Online experience  |  8-min read
September 23, 2020
Focus Area—Inclusion

Tradespeople identified seven core 21st-century digital skills that are needed to adapt to the future of the trades. These skills require knowledge of digital tools and interact with both trade-specific technical knowledge and social/emotional skills, which evolve over a person’s lifespan.

Summary for executives  |  4-min read
September 15, 2020
Focus Area—Education & Skills

Tradespeople will need a range of new digital skills to keep pace with the future of work and to thrive in digitally connected workplaces. They will need them to operate computerized equipment, access blueprints on digital devices, and use digital diagnostic tools, among other tasks.

Impact paper  |  30-min read
September 15, 2020
Focus Area—Education & Skills

Canadian employers are using lessons learned from the recent lockdown to determine how to protect employees and keep their business running during a potential second wave of the virus.

Summary for executives  |  4-min read
August 13, 2020
Focus Area—Human Resources

With all the workplace disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, executives, managers, and human resources professionals will face challenges in determining salary increases and bonuses.

Commentary  |  3-min read
August 7, 2020
Focus Area—Human Resources

When educators use a culturally responsive curriculum—one that bridges Indigenous ways of knowing with Western science—Indigenous students are more engaged and perform better.

Primer  |  40-min read
June 11, 2020
Focus Area—Indigenous & Northern Communities

Canada’s acceptance of immigrants demonstrates compassion and leadership, and enhances Canada’s global standing. See the stats that support this.

Online experience  |  8-min read
June 8, 2020
Focus Area—Immigration

To stay competitive in the wake of COVID-19, Canadian businesses will need talent with practical experience and future-relevant skills. One of the most promising ways to do this is by expanding access to work-integrated learning (WIL).

Online experience  |  8-min read
June 4, 2020
Focus Area—Education & Skills

To shape Canada’s future economy and build Indigenous communities across the country, we need more Indigenous people in finance and management roles in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations.

Online experience  |  4-min read
June 4, 2020
Focus Area—Indigenous & Northern Communities

In an era of lightning-fast technological change, it’s more important than ever that Canadian leaders understand how the adoption of new technologies will impact Canada’s labour force.

Online experience  |  8-min read
May 28, 2020
Focus Area—Education & Skills

Working Through COVID‑19

As provinces move to ease restrictions, Canadian organizations must consider a return of their employees to physical workplaces. With COVID-19 still active, what will this shift look like, and how prepared are employers for the risks? How will this impact working arrangements in the long term?

Online experience  |  8-min read
May 8, 2020
Focus Area—Human Resources

Working Through COVID‑19

As COVID-19 distancing measures continue into the year, Canadian organizations are exploring ways to reduce any overhead they can. How is this affecting employee benefits coverage?

Online experience  |  8-min read
May 4, 2020
Focus Area—Human Resources

FFew Canadians are unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These are tough times, and we’re drawing on everything from critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication to empathy, collaboration, and leadership. These represent several key “social and emotional skills”—or human skills.

Commentary  |  3-min read
April 28, 2020
Focus Area—Education & Skills

Working Through COVID‑19

As COVID-19 distancing—and budgeting—measures continue, many HR leaders are re-evaluating the status of upcoming salary increases and short-term incentive payouts.

Online experience  |  8-min read
April 20, 2020
Focus Area—Human Resources

Working Through COVID‑19

As COVID-19 continues to shift the daily rhythms of Canadian households, millions of Canadians are feeling the pinch to balance competing demands of work and family. What are their employers doing to help?

Online experience  |  8-min read
April 9, 2020
Focus Area—Human Resources

Our lives have been altered in more ways than we can describe. Thankfully, one aspect that hasn’t changed is our ability to access necessities. Even as self-isolation and physical distancing become part of our everyday vocabulary and behaviour, Canadians are still able to buy groceries, fill prescriptions, and use technologies to connect and stay productive.

Commentary  |  3-min read
April 3, 2020
Focus Area—Innovation & Technology

The most in-demand skills for today’s and tomorrow’s labour market aren’t technical—they’re social and emotional. Academic research and industry surveys on skills needs indicate that social and emotional skills (SES), or human skills, are critical for employability and career success. But are Canada’s education and training systems doing enough to prepare students for work?

Impact paper  |  38-min read
March 31, 2020
Focus Area—Education & Skills

In the coming months, more than 1.3 million jobs in the accommodation and food services sector will be affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in Canada. This represents approximately 7 per cent of all Canadian jobs. However, the economic impact on the sector will be felt unevenly across the country because economic regions are specialized in different industries.

Commentary  |  3-min read
March 31, 2020
Focus Area—Innovation & Technology

If you are a leader, you now also have to take on the role of “chief morale officer.” With your people working remotely and the current climate of fear around health and finances, a top priority for you as a leader is to keep your people motivated and feeling as good as they can about the work they do for you.

Commentary  |  5-min read
March 26, 2020
Focus Area—Leadership Development

About 4 per cent of Canadian adults are Indigenous. But less than 2 per cent of people working in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) occupations are. Improving Indigenous participation and leadership in major economic sectors, such as science, technology, and finance, is an important part of the reconciliation journey.

Online experience  |  8-min read
March 26, 2020
Focus Area—Indigenous & Northern Communities

In 1972 the Assembly of First Nations—launched a movement by First Nations to reclaim control of their education. Fifty years on, many forms of Indigenous-centred post-secondary education (PSE) exist in Canada. All of them aspire to help Indigenous students succeed.

Online experience  |  8-min read
March 26, 2020
Focus Area—Indigenous & Northern Communities

It comes as no surprise that women, racialized peoples, and other equity groups are underrepresented in leadership positions in Canada—including corporate board seats. These are some of the most powerful positions in the world, yet they’re predominantly held by white men.

Op-ed  |  5-min read
March 12, 2020
Focus Area—Inclusion

Defining the future of work is a complex and multifaceted task. Much of the existing research looks at the tasks that employers will automate, the workers they will displace, and the skills needed to complete said tasks.

Commentary  |  2-min read
October 1, 2019
Focus Area—Innovation & Technology

A change in attitude (and evidence) is brewing. Organizations are starting to realize that building a diverse and inclusive workplace is no longer a nice to have—it’s a critical business imperative.

Commentary  |  3-min read
September 23, 2019
Focus Area—Inclusion

More than a year after receiving royal assent, the ripple effects of the Cannabis Act are still being felt. With the world watching, and without clear direction, Canadian businesses are leading the way forward by taking an active approach to managing the implications of cannabis on the workplace.

Report  |  50-min read
August 12, 2019
Focus Area—Human Resources

CEOs see not having a framework to measure innovation as an important obstacle to future innovation. But how exactly do you measure innovation?

Report  |  25-min read
May 10, 2019
Focus Area—Innovation & Technology

Albertan employers face a variety of challenges in recruiting & developing workers from labour supply issues to concerns about employable skills.

Report  |  45-min read
May 10, 2019
Focus Area—Education & Skills

More than a year after receiving royal assent, the ripple effects of the Cannabis Act are still being felt. With the world watching, and without clear direction, Canadian businesses are leading the way forward by taking an active approach to managing the implications of cannabis on the workplace.

Briefing  |  15-min read
March 20, 2019
Focus Area—Inclusion

The digital leader’s role is to develop the organization’s digital strategy and oversee its execution; where this leader should be positioned within the organization sparks strong debate.

Report  |  35-min read
February 24, 2019
Focus Area—Innovation & Technology

Employers are demanding social and emotional skills but finding them to be in short supply among new hires. Canada’s business schools need to find ways to bring human skills training into the classroom.

Report  |  20-min read
December 2018
Focus Area—Education & Skills

Certain skills are fundamental, no matter your industry or role. Being aware of and practicing these skills is key to unlocking opportunities.

Online experience  |  5-min read
Last updated: October 6, 2017
Focus Area—Education & Skills