Case Study: HR & Non-Profits – Theatre Calgary’s Story
Clare Birks is the Director of Finance and Administration at Theatre Calgary, the city's first professional theatre company.
Since 1968, they have entertained audiences with premieres of new Canadian works and fresh interpretations of classics from Shakespeare to Shaw.
And while the end product may be what appears on stage, it takes an entire team to put on a great show, from the actors, to the crew backstage, to the administrators behind the scenes.
But, as for so many non-profit organizations, finding the resources and expertise to manage the HR needs of a dynamic team can be a struggle. Add in the COVID-19 crisis, which hit theatre companies particularly hard, and the Theatre Calgary team knew they needed some help.
Cenera HR Consultant, Todd Pannett, was brought on board to support the Theatre Calgary team through this challenging time — and he's been with them ever since!
Today, we're sitting down with Clare to learn more about working with an HR Consultant as a non-profit organization.
Hi Clare! It's great to have a chance to chat with you today. How has having professional HR support made a difference for the team at Theatre Calgary?
It's made a huge difference!
In a little over three years of working with Todd, we've vastly improved many processes. Todd helped us re-write our employee handbook, develop innovative vacation policies, improve employee communication, and implement a hybrid work policy. As with so many theatres and non-profit organizations, we faced extremely difficult decisions around layoffs resulting from COVID-19. Todd's sensitivity and advice on this matter was invaluable.
The overall impact on our company culture has been really noticeable. Employee morale is now stronger and better than ever, despite having just gone through one of the most challenging periods in the history of our organization.
What were you able to achieve with Cenera's support that you would not have been able to do alone?
So many things. Todd has helped us plan and allocate professional development opportunities in the organization, which is so important. He also helped to make our employment contracts simple and more understandable for our team.
He's also helped us to make the hourly team feel more like part of the organization and less like they're working in silos. They have better insight into what we're doing and better communication, thanks to Todd's advice.
We've also vastly improved our hiring practices. Before, departments were working independently, with no real central standards for hiring. Now we have centralized processes to refer to. Todd also helps us vet the hundreds of applications we typically receive for a job posting. This saves our team tons of time!
Another thing is that we've implemented an unlimited paid time off policy, which people were a bit uncertain of at first. While we initiated the idea, Todd really helped us understand the pros and cons and navigated us through how to do it well. It's been a huge success.
Another great thing is that Todd makes himself directly available to employees to come with questions concerns. It helps employees to know they have someone they can talk to, especially during a difficult time like the pandemic. He's become a trusted person within our organization.
What are your future HR goals as you continue to work with Cenera?
Lots of things, there's always room for improvement and Todd and I are constantly brainstorming!
One thing we want to do is to develop a process for compensation management, which we've never had before. Another thing we're working on is improving communication between team members. As an arts organization, we have a wide array of personalities in the workplace, so Todd is helping us with some personality assessments, and then we're hoping to set up a team-building session to analyze the results and understand how we can better communicate with each other.
Todd is also helping us with leadership development. We want to ensure our leadership team can build the skills they need to be great organizational leaders.
What kinds of organizations could benefit from working with Cenera?
I have spent most of my career in the non-profit space, and I’ve known many organizations to be so focused on their vision and mission but not have the resources to manage HR properly. In
my opinion, any organization that isn't big enough to have a dedicated HR department would benefit immensely from Cenera's services.
Why would you recommend Cenera to other organizations?
Simply put, they offer very clear advice.
Todd has been great at taking my ideas and making them work by ensuring they follow employment standards and are good for employees and managers.
Cenera started as a one-off consultant that we thought we would just use to get through the COVID crisis and help with career transition services for employees. But once we started working with Cenera, my eyes were opened to how much they could do.
What's great about working them is they have expertise in so many areas. You don't have to go to multiple places to get the help you need — it's all in one place. And non-profits are busy! We don't have time to source help for every business function, so a one-stop shop for all this support is huge.
Honestly, I can't picture us ever going back to not having a dedicated HR function in the organization. Todd is so central to us; he is now part of our organizational chart! I'm really proud of what we have accomplished over the last three years.
Cenera's team of HR experts offers invaluable HR advice and services to organizations of all sizes and sectors. We create trusted relationships with your internal employees to ensure your HR structures and policies serve your business needs and your company culture.
Your people are your most important asset. If you need support, reach out to us today to learn more.
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