HRANB October Event

Moncton, NB – October 23, 2007 A full house at the monthly HRANB event in Moncton got more than they bargained for on Tuesday morning. Scheduled to speak was Robertson Surrette’s Pierre Battah on the topic of ‘Recruitment and Retention - The New Reality.’ Instead, the room of HR professionals had the chance to hear a panel of industry experts speak and participate in a lively town hall style discussion.

After playing some light jazz with the band to open the session, Pierre moderated the panel of four distinguished speakers.

First up was Mark Surrette, President of Robertson Surrette on the importance for organizations to manage their employment brand in this shrinking talent market. Mark highlighted several strategies for becoming an employer of choice, including encouraging the audience to reframe former employees as alumni – turning them into positive brand advocates in the future.

Next, Mario Patenaude, Vice President at Robertson Surrette highlighted the key drivers of employee engagement. Mario emphasized that engagement makes good business sense and warned against one-size-fits-all programs that appeal to the lowest common denominator.

Anna Stuart, Partner at Robertson Surrette shifted the focus to the public sector. Drawing on her personal and professional experience, Anna issued a passionate call to action to reject negative stereotypes and talk positively about the vital role of the public sector.

Diane Allain from Evolution Consulting Group spoke about the need for HR to be an enabler and not a victim. Diane challenged everyone to check their own engagement and focus on delivering results that support the goals of their organizations.

Afterwards, Pierre moderated over an interactive discussion between the audience and the panel. Topics ranged from diversity to engaging different generations of employees.

In total, over 175 HR professionals attended the 90 minute session held at the Crystal Palace in Moncton. Roberson Surrette would like to extend our thanks to HRANB for the opportunity.