The Westerner for November 5, 2012
Meeting: chair, Rob Dunseith; music, Jerome; grace, Chris
Guests: Celine Calfa, guest speaker; Don Campbell
Jim Rowand: Past President Jim, at age of 94 and ten months, went into University of Alberta Hospital for an operation and is not responding. Family have been called, there are no none family visitors accepted, phone messages and cards to Elaine's attention are welcome. Jim was awarded the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) with bar for two acts of heroism as a pilot in Second World War - please remember him on November 11.
No Meeting: Edmonton Petroleum Club is closed November 12 in lieu of Remembrance Day
Notice of Annual Meeting of Rotary Club of Edmonton West Society: November 19, 12:15 p m
Rotary District 5370 Governor Meeting: our club and Rotary Club of Edmonton will join forces to meet with our District Governor Betty Screpnek on November 26, 5:30 p m cocktails, 6:00 p m dinner, at Sutton Place Hotel, $50 per person which includes a contribution to cover attendance of several New Generation members. Tickets available on line when we get the link advice.
Bert Andrews: congratulations on returning home for rehab on broken leg.
Christmas Donations for Belise: Fred will collect donations to take to Rotary Club of Placentia to allow purchase of Christmas gifts as was done last year (a big success) on November 19. Gifts are for students of Seine Bight School.
Habitat for Humanity: Darryll Whyte reported on his visit to Nicaragua with the international board of directors of this society for a house build. They went for 1 house to be built in 5 days - accomplished in 3 days so they completed 3 other houses that were in various stages of completion. The people are so poor that often 2-3 generationslive in 1 house with 4-5 adults in 1 bedroom. They cook on wood fires in the houses. This was a Global Village Build.
Casino: Bill Buckham advised that Alberta Gaming have given us a licence for April 1 and 2. Please be prepared to volunteer to help on this major fundraiser for our club.
50/50: Don McDermid and Dave shared $129.
Finemaster: Bob Kimmerley, in celebration of All Saints Day, fined everyone $2 except Catharine who received an exemption for her excellent work in managing our weekly meeting front desk.
Guest Speaker: Past District Governor Dan Graham introduced Celine Calfa to talk about the perfect storm brewing in Western Canada around employee training and retention. There will be an exodus of baby boomer employees to retirement which will take a lot of leadership and job experience out of the work force. The employment landscape will be changing and there will be high employee turnover as companies try to fix the problem. The generation x work force is only 30% of the baby boomer generation and there will be only 1 worker to replace 3. Also the generation x workers have a different work ethic as they want more time for pleasure and family commitments than the previous generations wanted. There is a lot of job availabilty in Western Canada as oil, gas, potash and mining industries are on fire. If you don't look after your employees, your staff could be picked up by better wage offers and/or better perceived working conditions. Labour costs will go up. Will you have sufficient staff to service your customers?
It takes one year to obtain full productivity from a new hire. Immigrants are a source of employees in addition to generation x. You need to plan your staff replacement strategy now. If too much pressure is put on existing employees, they will leave your employment. Only 31% of employees are engaged to (love) the company that they currently work for. The engaged employees put in extra time and energy in the execution of their duties. They may leave if they do not perceive employer respect or if there is a lack of recognition for their contributions. Employers need to trust, mentor, respect. To develop the right interpersonal skills, ask your staff to provide input into staff policy changes that are needed. Follow the 4 Way Test with employees.
Celine was thanked by Jerome.