The Champlain Financial Corporation (CFC) has purchased the pre-employment services division of Garda, for an amount that has not yet been disclosed.
With one hundred employees in Canada, GPE (Garda Pre-Employment) is currently the industry leader in the country and serves 1500 clients by providing checks of credit records, references, education and professional certification and psychometric assessment.
With confidence in the pre-employment market, the new owner wants to continue expanding this division by recruiting new clients and offering services related to hiring. CFC plans investments to bring the division “to another level”.
Source : la Presse – April 23, 2013
A study about workers’ volunteering activities
Statistics Canada has conducted a study on Canadian’s volunteering habits. It appears that in 2010 about one full time worker out of five aged 25 to 54 years did at most five hours per week of volunteering. At the same time, about one third of part time workers and one quarter of job seekers did the same number of hours of volunteering. Flexibility also has an influence – among full time workers, 6% of those with flexible hours or with the opportunity of working from home do volunteering, compared to 18% of those who do not have this freedom. Finally, the study identifies an important factor – the time for commuting between work and home. Those who live closer to their workplace are more likely to devote time to volunteering.
9 employees out of 10 more stressed than before the crisis
92% of employees feel that their work is more stressful than five years ago, according to a survey conducted by Right Management with about 600 people in the United States and Canada. The finding is largely explained by the economic situation: companies expect more from their employees than five years ago, especially since with reduced workforces, the same or even better results need to be obtained with fewer employees. The reduction of opportunities for development as well as training initiatives are also elements involved in increased stress of employees at the moment. The fact that managers are also under pressure and trying to get more from their staff doesn’t help the situation.
Information systems managers working outside office hours
According to a survey from Robert Half Technology, close to half of information systems directors maintain contact with their work outside office hours. 26% of respondents said they are often connected in the evening and weekends and 21% quite often. 23% rarely work in the evenings and weekends and 30% never. To limit the need to work at these times which should be set aside for personal life, Robert Half Technology proposes 4 avenues: identify priorities by the “mosts” (those which will save the most money, generate the most sales, attract the most new customers); be realistic about internal resources; avoid micromanaging by letting staff take care of details; and finally respecting others’ schedules by not calling unnecessary meetings, for example.
Canadian companies remain committed
85% of Canadian companies have maintained or even increased their community investment budget, despite the uncertain economic climate of the last five years, a study from the Conference Board of Canada reveals. Aside from historical reasons, where these investments are considered as a tradition by most companies, the impact on the company’s reputation partly explains this motivation. 38% of companies interviewed have also put in place a program dedicated to community investment.