Kevin Francis is having a positive impact ...
HR paradigm shifts at JetForm Corp.
BY BRIAN SALISBURY
ottawa business journal - Sept 5, 2000
Donna Morris is trying to change a few things over at JetForm Corp. For starters, she wants to
boost company revenues, increase customer satisfaction and recruit skilled employees.
How in the world does an HR person do all that you ask?
"It all comes down to putting the customer first," says Morris, the company's vice-president of
human resources. "We have 7,000 customers. If we execute on those 7,000 customers, we can
boost revenues and allow our people to grow their careers."
And Morris knows what she's talking about. Earlier this year, she won the Vision Award for the
human resources professional of the year in Ottawa-Carleton. Since being hired as a JetForm HR
staffer in 1998, Morris has risen up the ranks to VP. And with a past in the public sector, she's
done her share of negotiating.
So, what is this about big changes at JetForm?
"There is a huge paradigm shift happening here right now. We used to lead with R&D, but now
it's more about sales and marketing," says Morris.
To that end, Morris and the JetForm HR department have set up a management training initiative
for all of its team leaders and supervisors. The mandatory training is aimed at standardizing the
company's internal management practices.
"We want everyone to be treated equally. You don't want to create a corporate culture where
there are haves and have-nots," says Morris. "In a lot of companies, the non-technology
personnel are looked at as the have-nots."
Another initiative being led by Morris is retention management for the company's managers.
Retaining high-tech employees in Ottawa's hotly contested labour market is one of Morris' most
important responsibilities.
Essentially, the focus of the initiative is to cultivate relationship skills. "Everything comes down to
relationships and you have to develop people's abilities in that area," says Morris. "It's much
harder for employees to leave a tight-knit group than it is to leave some place that they have no
ties."
Morris says her initiatives are a byproduct of the freedom she has been given, which most
high-tech HR managers envy.
"It all started when (JetForm president and CEO) Kevin Francis was hired in May," says Morris.
"He's allowed HR to sit at the management table and be a part of decisions. He's allowed HR to
get away from being just an administrative activity. I have a lot of HR peers in this city and not all
of them are given those opportunities."
So, what has the reaction been to Morris' moves at JetForm?
"Everyone is excited," says Nicola Clarke McIsaac, manager of investor relations at JetForm. "HR
is more at the front now. It's nice to know the company is concerned about furthering our skills,
our careers."
The perception is that if the employees are given the opportunity to grow, the more likely they
will stay with the company. It's an ideology that Morris and JetForm are banking on to combat
the aggressive high-tech recruiting environment in Ottawa.
"It's an excellent idea," says Tom Bursey, president-elect of the Ottawa Human Resources
Professionals Association (OHRPA). "It's critically important (to have HR at the front). Managers
have to have the skills first before it can start to rub off on other people."
And the managers are not the only ones benefiting. Morris says her training initiatives help her
team too. "After the managers are informed, our role almost becomes a consultant position. It's
not often you can make an impact as an HR person, but that's what we've done here." |
