The Daily. Thursday, September 6, 2001

The evolving workplace: human resource practices

Human resource management policies such as training, variable pay and employee involvement practices play important roles in facilitating change in the workplace, according to a new report jointly produced by Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada and based on data from the 1999 Workplace and Employee Survey (WES).

WES data show that almost 50% of Canadian business locations introduced a product or process innovation in 1999, 29% adopted some form of new technology, and more than 40% implemented an organizational change, primarily by re-engineering a work process or downsizing.

Technological and organizational advances are widespread, occurring in firms of all sizes and across many industries, though to varying degrees. Larger businesses are most likely to introduce these changes, but those with fewer than 20 employees are much less likely to do so.

These changes in the workplace are associated with higher training rates in all sizes of workplaces. However, the relationship is strongest among smaller ones. Among workplaces with fewer than 20 employees, 71% of the businesses undergoing organizational change sponsored employee training, compared with about 39% of workplaces with no such change.

The report also shows that employers implementing workplace changes are more likely to have variable pay practices, that is, pay for performance. Workplace change is also related to human resource practices that increase employee involvement in decision-making (job rotation, multi-tasking and teamwork).

The WES results highlight the integration of workplace training and other human resource strategies. From the perspectives of both employers and employees, workplaces that put more importance on human resource management strategies show greater training rates than do those workplaces where little importance is given to these strategies.

However, when it comes to who receives training in a workplace, employee and job characteristics predominate. Highly educated workers are much more likely to participate in employer-sponsored training than are less-educated workers. Similarly, managers and professionals receive more classroom training than do other occupational groups. Computer use and increasing job complexity also boost training rates.

The report concludes that human resource practices are key in facilitating workplace change. These human resource practices aim to produce a skilled and motivated work force that is able to adapt to, and take advantage of, organizational and technological change.

Employer and employee perspectives on human resource practices, no. 1 (71-584-MIE, free) is now available from both Statistics Canada's Web site (). From the Our products and services page, choose Free publications. It is also available from Human Resources Development Canada on the Applied Research Branch's Web page (www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/arb). A paper version (71-584-MPE, $15) is also available.

This is the first report in the Evolving Workplace Series, a co-operative venture of Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada to promote research on the workplace using the WES. The survey collects a broad range of information on a sample of employers and their employees. Future reports will cover such topics as job vacancy rates, training determinants, gender-based wage differences and the computer technology-education connection.

For more information on this release, contact the media relations unit (819-994-5559), Human Resources Development Canada. For more information on the WES, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Howard Krebs (613-951-4063) or Ted Wannell (613-951-3546), Statistics Canada.

For enquiries about related statistics or services, contact the client services unit, Labour Statistics Division, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, K1A 0T6, (1-866-873-8788; 613-951-4090; fax: 613-951-2869; labour@statcan.gc.ca.)