How to develop your salary expectations (and discuss during a job interview)

Tara Gousseau, Senior Recruiter – Professional & Management Recruitment

It is a question many people dread during job interviews: what are your salary expectations? Whether an interviewer provides a range or asks you to share your expectations, the topic of salary is a conversation everyone should be ready to address. Simply put, you know your worth, your skills, and the value you can offer an organization. With a little bit of research, you can develop your salary expectations and be ready to answer the question like a pro.

Why you should use research to develop salary expectations

Anytime you are applying for a job, you should use research to develop your salary expectations. Don’t just pull a number out of thin air — take time to explore available information to create an educated answer. Even if you already know how much you would like to make at your next job, salary research before applying for positions can help guide your job search. The information you gather will:

1. Give you a general idea, before applying, what the range/average is for a specific role within a certain industry
2. Help you understand which roles/industries are more likely to offer compensation that meet your needs, and 
3. Help you answer the question “What are your salary expectations?” when it comes up.

Salary factors 

When you start researching salaries for your desired job, you need to consider a few factors. 

• Organization type (private, public, non-profit) 
• Industry (finance, tech, health care, retail, etc.) 
• City / location
• Your level of experience

A salary range, along with other job aspects, can change depending on each of these factors. For example, a job in Vancouver is likely to pay more than a similar position in Winnipeg, as the cost of living in Vancouver is higher. Similarly, small to medium-sized or private firms potentially have more flexibility in their budget to negotiate salaries than perhaps a non-profit would.

Another factor to consider when developing your salary expectations is job responsibilities. Depending on the industry you’re looking at, you may see multiple job titles for similar jobs. Review the duties listed in the job description for a better idea of the salary range and level.

Researching salaries

Once you know what type of organization and industry you would like to work in, you can start your research. When researching salaries for your desired position, check multiple sources (online, peers, and recruiters, etc.) Exploring different sources will give you a clearer and honest picture of possible salary ranges.

Online resources, like Glassdoor, are a great place to start looking for salary ranges. You can see salary information based job title and your region. If you’re in a smaller market or are looking for a niche position, keep in mind, there might not be as many results, but it is a good place to start.

Next, if you’re comfortable, ask peers within your industry (but not within your own organization) what salary range they work in, along with their responsibilities. These conversations can help you develop your salary expectation based on more than just a job title.

Lastly, recruiters have a wealth of knowledge. If you connect with a recruiter hiring within your industry, ask them about typical salary ranges for your desired position. They also may be able to point you to some openings that are a good fit for your specific needs.

With all your research in hand, take time to think about what you need. Points to consider include: 

• Current salary
• Your skills
• Research
• Cost of living
• Total compensation (benefits, flexibility in hours and work arrangements etc.).

Providing your salary expectations

You’re in an interview, and it’s time to talk salary. With your well-researched expectations in hand, you are ready for this conversation. Make sure to be honest during the discussion about how much you are expecting and your current compensation. If there is a large gap between what you are making now and your expected salary, be prepared to explain why.

If you’re not comfortable sharing a specific salary number, share the range you’d like to fall in. If you are in the right range the recruiter or hiring manager should let you know. You can also let the recruiter or hiring manager know you’re open to negotiation. This may be something you consider if you feel the role has the opportunity for growth.

To help you in this conversation, here are two answer examples:

• “Through my research, I’ve found that the average salary for this position in this industry/region is between $80,000 and $90,000 and with the experience and skill sets, I would bring to the organization, I would want to be on the higher end of that range.”
• “Based on my research, experience and skill sets, , I would be looking for $80,000 – $90,000. However, I am flexible and open to connecting further about the role and my experience before making any final decisions on compensation.

At the end of the day, you want to work with an organization that is a fit for your specific career and compensation needs. Researching, developing, and professionally communicating your salary expectations will help you have those conversations and find an organization and career that is right for you.

Tara Gousseau
Senior Recruiter
Professional & Management Recruitment

With her years of experience in partnering with senior leaders and hiring managers to fill their talent needs quickly, Tara understands the importance of building relationships and working with her clients in partnership. With a background in transportation and logistics, Tara brings her passion for matching talent with great organizations.

Best Practices for Setting Career Goals

Career Management

Often the start of a new year symbolizes opportunity and change. It can also be a time to set new goals. Before we can look ahead to the opportunities awaiting us and determine what we want to achieve, we must reflect on the career goals we set and the progress made towards achieving them during the last 11 months.

Whether you have experience setting goals or are exploring the idea for the first time, below are some best practices for establishing and staying accountable to your career goals.

Why is setting career goals important?    

Before we explore some best practices of setting professional goals, understanding the importance of establishing them comes first. In general, setting goals is essential to personal development. In our personal lives, we set goals to improve physical, mental, and financial health. At work, we set goals to achieve professional milestones and improve our careers. Setting goals is essential to ensure progress in your career. When we set goals, personal or professional, we establish a framework that enables us to achieve them.

Best practices for setting career goals

1. Set short-term & long-term goals

We recommend setting short-term and long-term career goals to ensure successful results. Both goal types are integral to the overall framework of setting goals and when appropriately planned, empower you to take your next step.

Short-term goals are achieved over a shorter timeframe and support progress towards accomplishing long-term goals. They are like steppingstones, bridging the gap between the two-goal types. Timeframes for short-term goals can vary from a few weeks to a few months and may depend on the goal itself. Ultimately, short-term goals keep you accountable and motivated to the big picture.

Long-term goals are big-picture dreams. They are bound to an extended timeframe and require an element of strategic planning.

For example, a long-term career goal might be a promotion at work. If improving time management skills is essential to achieving the promotion, practicing time blocking in your calendar may be a short-term goal that supports your overall goal.

2. Be SMART about your goals

SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. The Canadian Management Centre states the SMART concept was first introduced in the 1980s and continues to be an effective management tool today. Developing goals under the SMART framework ensures well-defined objectives are established and increases the probability of achieving them.

• Specific: Focused and tied to a tangible outcome. Make a career goal as straightforward as possible. Answer the ‘what, why & how’ of the plan; what is the goal, why is it important, and how will you achieve it?

• Measurable: Include measures to monitor and track progress. Measurable goals answer the when and how part of achieving the goal.
  • When will I know I have reached my goal?
  • How will I ensure I am on the right track to meeting it?

• Achievable: When setting career goals, they should be challenging but still manageable. If you are focused on an out-of-reach goal or dream, it can be discouraging and lead to failure. When identifying objectives, ask yourself if they are realistic and whether you have access to the resources required to be succeed.

• Relevant: Provides the framework to ensure the goal is relevant to where you want to go and is supported by resources you have today. Ask if the goal is relevant to overall career aspirations and achievable given available resources and the current environment.

• Time-Bound: Set a target date for completion. When career goals are time-bound, they prompt action and align focus back to the desired outcome while staying on track to achieve it.

3. Stay accountable to your goals

Now that we have covered the importance of setting career goals, the difference between short- and long-term goals and the SMART goal framework, it is time to tie it all together with action and accountability. Staying accountable to goals is the secret sauce to successfully achieving them. What steps can you take to ensure accountability?

The People First Career Management team recommends these best practices:  

1. Write your goals down. Writing down career goals (on paper or in a digital document) provides an opportunity to reflect and plan on each of the SMART acronym components and what you need to do to achieve the desired outcome. Once you have identified milestones and a timeline, write them down. Cross off your milestones as you reach them to help yourself stay organized and on track. 
2. Prioritize goals & time management. Managing goals effectively requires prioritizing daily activities. Develop productivity and time management skills by prioritizing time and tasks using a time management matrix and time blocking. These approaches are proactive and effective in identifying how and where you have spent time. Prioritizing tasks and managing time is easier said than done, but it is important. When you understand and implement time management methods, you can focus on the right tasks while increasing productivity.
3. Work with a career consultant or coach. To improve your confidence, provide structure to your goals and overcome mindset barriers, consider working with a career consultant or coach. Guidance from a consultant can help you reach professional goals much sooner than going at it alone. 

Setting career goals provides structure and a pathway to success. As you navigate career goals in the future, start by taking time to reflect on the goals you previously set to understand where you can improve in your approach to achieving them. From there, refine your goals or develop new ones using the SMART framework and be sure to implement accountability measures. A new year is a new opportunity to refocus your career goals!

Jen Oleson
Manager, Operations, Career Management

Jen believes that adopting an intentional and focused approach to one’s decisions and choices can lead to a more fulfilling and purposeful life. Her purpose and passion are to serve, inspire, and empower people and organizations to achieve their goals.

Key Decisions When Creating a Vaccination Policy

HR @ Your Service

As a human resource consulting practice, our HR @ Your Service team has been fielding many questions from organizations that are considering a vaccination policy for their staff. As these organizations reopen in some form, whether fully or partially, whether to create a vaccination policy is a question that can be rather daunting (even for HR!).

There is no cookie-cutter approach to designing a policy as no two organizations are alike. However, it is clear that these policies should be aligned with legislation and reflect the organization’s needs. Ultimately, the policy should state the reason for its existence, list accompanying procedures, and be easy for employees to follow — even if they are not happy or disagree with it.

Involving employees in drafting a policy may be best practice but that can open employers up to a range of opinions and potentially heated arguments. So, while some consultation may be wise, the policy should be carefully planned with a level of compassion and respect for the varying opinions. Those who can lend their wisdom include health and safety committees, operational representatives, individuals with customer lines of sight, and union representatives.

Reviewing literature surrounding this topic reveals the following key considerations when introducing a vaccination policy:

The safety risk involved with having unvaccinated employees at work

Under the safety legislation across provinces, employers are responsible for the safety of their employees. The pandemic has shown employers that they need to pay attention. Early on, safety protocols revolved around distancing, masking, hygiene, and managing outbreaks. With vaccines now fully available, employers are looking at how this tool can sharpen their approach to safety.

As with any safety policy consideration, employers need to consider the risk factors to their stakeholders. This includes the characteristics of customers and employees, such as vulnerable populations, as well as the type and length of contact to provide service. Identifying risk factors provides a basis for the type of policy required.

Employers should consider whether they can mitigate the risks involved in implementing a vaccination policy. One way to mitigate risks is to require vaccination, other ways include requiring regular testing and continued use of personal protective equipment, remote working, or modified shifts.

Applicable legislation that governs the business

The Federal Government has mandated vaccination for all employees who are federally regulated including air, rail, and marine transportation sectors. This is not a choice for employees. Other industries such as health care, education, and childcare workers have been provincially directed.

With these employers moving ahead with vaccination policies, there is also movement in other industries such as construction, banks, and professional services.

This does lead smaller businesses to wonder whether to jump on board with a full vaccination policy or whether they can sustain employees who have chosen not to vaccinate. The concerns range from the ability to enforce the chosen policy and the costs that may be incurred to accommodate employees who are choosing not to vaccinate, whether it is a personal choice or for a reason such as a health condition or religion. 

Selecting the right vaccination policy for your organization

Once an organization determines that a vaccination policy is their best course of action, there is a range of policies that businesses can choose from:

• Full vaccination required of all staff without exceptions (rare and not usually recommended as this is the highest risk scenario since it does not allow for accommodations where acceptable).
• Full vaccination required with exemptions and accommodations only provided in the cases related to protected grounds under the Human Rights Legislation of the applicable province (usually this would relate to a disability or religious ground).
• Full vaccination required with exemptions and accommodations provided in the cases related to protected grounds under the Human Rights Legislation of the applicable province and for those who do not wish to have the vaccine for various other reasons.

The decision on which policy to create will be based on the considerations noted above. Consulting with safety experts and a lawyer is not uncommon as there are certainly arguments being made related to privacy and personal freedoms. Until cases have been tried in court and precedents have been set, there is a level of risk in these decisions.

Finally, consider what to include in a vaccination policy. Key elements to consider are:

1. If it is a mandatory vaccination policy, what is the timeline for employees to comply?  How are they to show compliance — through self-declaration or by showing proof of vaccination?
2. Access to employees’ vaccination status, and any associated medical information, should be limited based on the governing privacy legislation. Only those required to know an employee’s vaccination status should have access to the information and only for as long as the information is required.
3. The necessity of the policy will dictate the type of policy required. Outlining the reasons for the policy should be noted for employees. Those who are vaccine-hesitant will want to know why it is required and any alternatives for accommodation.
4. If employees are accommodated for any reason, make it clear what the protocols are for each case, as an employer would for any situation of accommodation. These plans are often individually based and will range from accommodation at home, to PPE protocols in the workplace.
5. Provide a venue for continual review and updating as the pandemic is an ever-evolving situation. Ensure that updates are made when there are new requirements such as booster shots or new and acceptable treatments.
6. Ensure employees understand the consequences of not adhering to the policy and who in the organization they can share any concerns with. Stay respectful of these concerns and ensure that communication lines are open.

With many organizations keen to open their doors to employees again comes the decision of requiring employees to be vaccinated or not. Consider the above recommendations as the return to the office is planned and ensure that your stakeholders have been consulted. This will confirm that a thoughtful and considerate approach is taken.

Finally, plan to be flexible. If there’s one thing we’ve learned to be certain with this pandemic, it is that change is just around the corner.

Wanda Loewen
Manager, HR @ Your Service

Wanda has been in Human Resources for over 25 years and has experience in a variety of industries including manufacturing, healthcare, financial and property management.  She enjoys developing initiatives that help organizations drive their employee experience forward in areas such as engagement, total rewards, talent acquisition, performance management, learning, HR technology, compensation and operational excellence.

Building Trust in a Hybrid Workforce

Organizational Health Practice

For a team to work well together there needs to be trust between the employees, leaders, and organization. For hybrid teams, building trust essential.

As hybrid workplaces are becoming more common, leaders may wonder how they can trust teams as they work in different environments. To answer this question, it is important to consider how leaders trust in-person teams. If we can work off the premise that employees who are trustworthy in person will be trustworthy no matter where they are working, it may make this question less concerning. By considering employees’ past and current performance, you should get a good sense of what can expect from them. Do they do what they say and get their work done? If so, there is no need to worry if you can trust your employees. 

While leaders shouldn’t worry about how to trust employees in different environments, the questions remains: how do you build trust in hybrid workforce if it’s not there yet?

Types of Trust

First, let’s look at some of the types of trust. Trust has layers. It can take time to build and breakdowns are inevitable. The ASC DOC model, as seen below, was originally tested in healthcare and is now being used across all industries. There is a lot of value in understanding how the types of trust are related, as there may be times when you have Task Trust and not Relational Trust or vice versa. 

Relational Trust (ASC)

• Authenticity: your words and actions can be taken at face value
• Safety: others feel safe, secure, and protected with you
• Consistency: your behaviour is predictable

Task Trust (DOC)

• Dependability: others can expect you’ll do what you say you will do
• Ownership: others see you own the outcome
• Competence: you have the skill and experience to do what’s expected

In the early stages of a team’s life, developing relational trust is the most important. As relationships within the team mature and you have built the required foundation, the shift to task-related trust becomes a focus. 

Why Trust Matters on Virtual or Hybrid Teams

Trust is important in every relationship, personal or professional. When it comes to the workplace, fractures in trust are far more visible and fragile in virtual teams than in teams that can interact face to face. 

When trust exists within your team, you will experience a different relationship with employees —they are more likely to experience a level of contentment, cohesion, and commitment. As well, individuals are more likely to feel confident in risk-taking, which helps us get better at what we do.

“We innovate at the speed of trust” – Stephen Covey

Priorities for Building Trust in a Hybrid Workforce

Now, how do you build trust within a hybrid workforce? With these five priorities, you will naturally build trust within your teams. 

1. Psychological safety – This is the shared belief that a team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking. Without this sense of safety, employees don’t raise their hands with new ideas, or with emerging concerns.
2. Empathy – Leaders that apply empathy put themselves into the shoes of their team members and take interest in the problems they face in the course of their work.
3. Relationships – Cut loose a bit by encouraging non-work talk. This may seem counterproductive, but is a vital tool for building authentic, trust-based relationships that make work go smoothly. 
4. Trust model – Test the trust model with your teams by inviting feedback. Ask how the team rates on these measures. Where are we excelling? How can we improve in the future?
5. Shared leadership – Shared leadership occurs when the roles or behaviours of leadership shift from one person to another by giving team members decision-making authority over their area of work. Shared leadership is also a time-tested way of developing leadership. 

Lastly, as you consider your team’s work environment and how to assess or build trust, think about the resources you have internally. These will support and impact your environment specifically your HR practices, benefits program, and health and wellness programs. 

Resources

https://davidirvine.com/building-high-trust-high-engaged-accountable-culture-power-attunement/
https://hbr.org/2021/03/what-is-your-organizations-long-term-remote-work-strategy
https://www.economist.com/business/2021/06/10/remote-workers-work-longer-not-more-efficiently
https://www.economist.com/business/2020/12/03/how-the-pandemic-is-forcing-managers-to-work-harder

Leadership in the Post-Pandemic World: How to influence a sense of belonging

By Ardele Karaganis, Strategic HR Consulting

Whether your employees are returning to the workplace, working remotely, or balancing a hybrid of both, leaders have a role to play in creating a sense of belonging among employees.

The pandemic has disrupted many leaders’ relationships with their employees. As the new normal emerges, these disruptions could impact how employees view their contributions or level of belonging in an organization. According to Deloitte’s 2020 Global Human Capital Trends research, 44% of executive survey respondents said contribution was the biggest driver of belonging at their organization. How is contribution evaluated within your business? And how can you influence your employees’ sense of belonging in this new, ever-changing post-pandemic environment?

For leaders to effectively manage results and encourage a sense of belonging they need a well-rounded set of skills and abilities.

Effective communication

Right now, every leader should be over-communicating with their teams. This means ensuring that each team member receives the information they need when they need it, regardless of their physical work arrangement. This will require leaders to do more frequent check-ins with employees using tailored communication methods (i.e., email, text, chat platforms, video conferencing). Ask your team what method works best for them (for the individual and the group). By using their preferred communication methods, you can demonstrate care, show interest, and express gratitude in a way that is meaningful to your employees.

Sharing expected & actual outcomes

One approach to show your team members the value of their contributions is to emphasize outcomes in performance management. Outcomes speak directly to a worker’s contributions toward organizational objectives. Deloitte’s data indicates that the shift toward outcome-based performance management is already underway. It’s no longer about how much time employees spend working — especially when leaders may not be able to monitor how long their remote teams worked. More than 65% of executives in Deloitte’s report agreed that they believed metrics would need to shift from capturing outcomes rather than outputs in the next five years.

Coaching

Coaching your employees, whether for developmental purposes or preparing them for their next promotion, is essential to successfully support your organization’s new way of working. Team members can experience an increased sense of belonging and engagement with frequent, quality coaching from their leaders.

A pre-pandemic example of how coaching can support your organizational objectives in a post-pandemic environment is that of the 2016 shift in Microsoft’s approach to leadership from “command control” to coaching their 130,000 employees. As part of this shift, Jean-Phillipe Courtois (their newly appointed CEO) encouraged his leadership team to focus on asking coaching-oriented questions including,

• What are you trying to do?
• What’s working?
• What’s not working?
• How can we help?

These types of questions can further demonstrate to your staff that you care about them not only as employees but as people.

Motivating and team building

In work environments where team members may be remote and in office, motivating and creating team cohesiveness can be challenging. Effective leaders acknowledge this and embrace new and innovative ways to motivate and bring teams together to accomplish organizational goals. Celebrating successes through virtual and in-person interactions including meetings, emails, chat rooms, and virtual get togethers can support your team building efforts. Themed days to celebrate various holidays (i.e. Halloween, etc.) that bring your staff together may look different than the pre-pandemic approach. There is no shortage of well tested strategies available through a quick search on the internet when you are looking for ideas in this area.

During the pandemic, leaders have had to pivot their leadership style to meet the new needs of their employees and business. As they face the new way of working, whatever that may look like for their organization, they should consider these questions:

• How can we see without being “there”?
• How do we support and engage our workforce?
• What are the ways we can create high-quality connections? Connections that will keep employees engaged and feeling a sense of belonging.
• How can we, as leaders, demonstrate care and foster inclusion?

These questions represent just a few of the qualities that leaders will need to possess to be successful as organizations moves forward into the post-pandemic world.

When challenges are multiplied, the basic skills of leaders also become more critical than ever. Leaders need to learn and practice proven approaches to motivating, coaching, and communicating effectively. 

Ardele is a senior human resources professional with over 18 years’ human resources leadership experience. In the past number of years, Ardele has specialized in employee and leadership development through her senior roles in Learning and Development.