Think About it

Welcome to the Fall edition of thinkr. We bring you:

Relocation and Immigration news
Upcoming events
Editorial

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New BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) Forms

Update your forms and links: The BC PNP office has updated their application forms and added a few new requirements (see forms and checklists for full details). After October 13, 2006, old forms will no longer be accepted.

BC Provincial Nominee Program expands

The BC Provincial Nominee Program is hiring more staff in hopes of increasing the number of nominees by 41%. This program is a great way of assisting your employees become permanent residents or another avenue for hiring foreign workers.

New Immigration Pre-Screening Centres

As of September 1, 2006, CIC opened temporary foreign worker units in Vancouver and Calgary. These centres will review and provide advice on confirmation-exempt work permit applications. Final determination on the work permit is still determined by the reviewing officer at the time of application at the time of entry or at the consulate (taking pre-screening details into consideration). Confirmation-exempt applications include IT worker, NAFTA professionals and intra-company programs. Applications requiring a Labour Market Opinion must still go through Service Canada.

Work Permit renewals

Are you tracking your employees' work permit expiry dates? Budget enough time so your employees don't get stuck. Current processing times:

Service Canada: 10 - 12 weeks
Vegreville case processing centre : 51 days

If you have to go through both steps (the labour market opinion and work permit renewals), get started at least 6 months in advance.

The Canadian Consulate in Seattle - Moved

Effective September 19, 2006, the Canadian Consulate in Seattle will be at a new address. Any mail already sent to the Consulate will be forwarded. All future mail should be addressed to this new location.

U.S. Passport Requirement Delayed

One step closer to a delay: Negotiators agreed to delay the requirement for Canadians to have passports for entry to the U.S. The new target date is June 1, 2009. The bill must still pass a final vote and be approved by the President.

For your frequent travelers: NEXUS

U.S. Passport Requirement Explained

This article, entitled "It was fun while it lasted", looks at the impact of the impending U.S. requirement for all travellers to have passports for travel to and from the U.S. While the lobbying for a delay in the implementation date continues, its inevitability is certain. Great background article that explains the underlying politics, security issues, and economic impact.

Become a Magnet for Talent

D&T surveyed HR Practitioners and confirmed that attracting and retaining top talent are still critical HR issues for organizations. The impact of retiring Baby Boomers and the skills shortage continue to put pressure on this issue. The report looks at these key findings and suggests way to address them.

Cool Tax Tool

Enter your income into Ernst & Young's personal tax calculator to estimate your tax bill.

How to Hire Out-of-Town Talent

This article suggests that anyone will relocate if the opportunity is right. To do this, target the right people and invest the time and money to sell them on the opportunity.

Global Recruitment: Tips for Closing the Deal

No matter where your candidate is from, everything about working here will be different. This includes the simplest things, such as how we get paid, what is CPP and EI, and what are typical company benefits. The moral of this story: Provide lots and lots of information.

Qualified Immigrants Struggling

Starting fresh in a new country can be difficult, particularly if language and the recognition of your foreign credentials is an issue. Mainland China is the largest source of immigrants and this article looks at the issues they face.

Lists

Everyone loves a good list. These contain interesting nuggets for those of you involved with recruitment and relocation:

Top 50 Rankings for Cost of Living
Source:Mercer Human Resource Consulting  

Top 3 cities: Moscow, Seoul, and Tokyo. One Canadian city made the list: Toronto.

The Big Mac Index
Source: The Economist

Not exactly scientific, but always interesting to know how much a Big Mac will set you back around the world. Purchasing power parity (what the index is really about) is explained in the article.

Canada: 10th Happiest Country in the World
Source: The Vancouver Sun

A social psychologist researched of over 100 studies to come up with the World Happiness Map. Denmark, Switzerland and Austria are tops with Canada coming in at #10.

Canada's Best Places to Live
Source: Money Sense

Surely Vancouver would be on the top of this list if it weren't for the price of real estate. And the rainfall. Be sure to read the overview before getting offended that Leamington, Ontario is tops on the list.

Think Ahead

Learning
Our company values say that we embrace learning and indeed we do!

The "Know before you go": Doing Business Across the Canada/U.S. Border forum was informative and interesting. This forum gave us a chance to learn from the experts: a panel of Canadian and U.S. immigration officials and Canadian and U.S. immigration lawyers were on hand to discuss issues and answer questions. The forum wrapped up with an enthusiastic keynote from a Dept. of Homeland Security official who gave us a big picture view that left us all thinking "don't sweat the small stuff".

We also attended the AON/ORC's breakfast briefing on International Compensation and Benefits. Trends include a more centralized approach, global assignments are getting shorter in duration, and more expats are coming from non-Western countries.

Sharing
We can take it and we can dish it out:

We co-presented Relocation Essentials for HR Professionals and Recruiters for the Canadian Employee Relocation Council's June meeting. This Relocation 101 session touched on both the big picture and the practical, raising awareness about the complexity and variety of issues involved in relocation.

Over the summer, we put on our teacher hats and co-facilitated "Summer School" sessions covering the basics of Canadian immigration. The workshop was designed as the first learning step and was reinforced with one-on-one follow-ups and a handy reference guide.

Cross Border Employees and Executives - Do you know the risks?
Host: Deloitte & Touche - International Assignment Services
Date: October 3, 2006

This workshop examines the tax exposure created by frequent travelers who spend much time on both sides of the border. Learn about the tax implications, tax compliance, and controlling the risk and exposure for your company.

Register by e-mailing or calling Rosanna Crame: (604) 640-4936; rcrame@deloitte.ca

Lucy goes to Hollywood: The ABC's of Expat tax
Host: Canadian Employee Relocation Council
Date: October 12, 2006

This morning session is designed to offer information and insights that will help HR Professionals develop an understanding of the various issues in moving an employee out of or into Canada. We will follow "Lucy" along on her assignment and talk about some of these issues, including residency, departure tax, payroll, immigration and compliance matters. You will not want to miss this "5 star" event if you are involved with transferring employees to foreign jurisdictions. (Details to come and will be posted on www.cerc.ca)

Doing Business in the USA

This day-long seminar is designed for companies wanting to sell products or services in the U.S.A. Sessions include U.S. immigration, taxation, business formation and transactions, distribution and logistics, U.S. customs.

Human Capital Symposium

This one day symposium will cover a host of HR issues relevant to the tech community. Think Relocation Consulting and Global Steps Relocation will be co-presenting: "Recruitment: Going Global? What you should know about immigration and relocation".

Advanced Human Resources Management in a Hot Economic Climate

This conference will cover a variety of HR topics from recruitment to retention, within the context of our current labour shortage. Of particular interest is the session entitled :Solutions for Speedy Recruitment and Relocation of Foreign Workers to Overcome the Canadian Labour Shortage" which will provide an overview of immigration and relocation issues.

Think Tank

My Secret Power

I have a hard time admitting this, especially since it's traditionally seen as such an unfriendly business trait. But since this is a friendly audience in a safe environment, I can admit it: my Myers-Briggs type indicator is ENFJ. Yes, you read it right, that's E (extrovert), N (intuitive), F (feeler), J (judging). For someone who claims to be a Thinker, this is like baring the skeletons in my closet. Recently, though, I've learned that Feeling is actually my secret power. Superman has x-ray vision, Wolverine has razor-blade claws, Mr. Furious gets angry, I have Feeling. My Feeler tendencies (better watch how I phrase that!) allow me to be empathetic and gives me good powers of observation. I can feel tension in a room, frivolity in a meeting, or just know when it's best to just get down to business. It's another sense that gives me more information about a given situation. I'd also like to think it makes me a more pleasant person to be around. And while my natural tendency is to Feel, it's not like I can't Think. I have to work a bit harder at it, am more purposeful about it, yet know that I can rely on my feeling side, too, for another reality check. Likewise, I believe that Thinkers can also be Feelers if they work at it. Much like being ambidextrous, except it's your brain instead of your hands.

So all you Thinkers out there, I challenge you to exercise your Feeling side and use it to complement your Thinking.

Feel, think and be merry,

Marlene
Principal, Think Relocation Consulting

Good reads for you:

Love is the Killer App: how to win business and influence friends

Tim Sanders says that nice smart people do succeed and that they don't finish last. The key there is to be smart about the way you're nice. Love people by sharing your knowledge (read a lot), networking (grow and nurture it), and compassion (have warmth at work). This all sounds unusual, intriguing, and a nice change from the ruthless business behaviour that's often held up as a model.

Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication

Paul Ekman is a renowned psychologist, researcher, and consultant. This book takes a look at how we reveal our true feelings and emotions in our faces. His extensive research has shown that basic emotions are innate across cultures and by recognizing them, we can harness that knowledge to improve communication.

"What's Empathy got to do with it?"

"Sense and Sensitivity: Reading emotional currents"

"Taming the Alpha Exec"

Alpha Execs are natural leaders but also come off as arrogant, unapproachable, and bad listeners. While every exec needs a little alpha in them to success, alpha execs gone bad can ruin a company.

"Office politics: dealing with jerks"

Don't let people become jerks and don't reward them for it. Managers need to take charge of employees that make the work environment toxic. This article provides some coping mechanisms for diffusing the jerk.

"How to stop being so darn nice all the time"

 If you're being nice to get approval, stop. There are times when honesty (which may not be nice) is the best policy.