Transforming Human Resources Service Delivery
at the Cree School Board
The Cree School board (CSB) is a very unique school board. It is one of the few school boards in Canada that has independent jurisdiction over education in its own Indigenous territory.
The CSB Human Resources (HR) department was faced with some unique challenges in attracting and retaining qualified candidates that would connect well with both lives at the school board and in the community as a whole.
Boreala Management supported the CSB HR team in its endeavor to enhance the delivery of HR services with the objective of augmenting the team’s overall performance. There was a specific focus on improving talent attraction and employee retention rates. In close collaboration with our client, a multi-year partnership was initiated which has included:
- Developing staffing programs such as onboarding, succession planning and orientation events;
- Implementing strategies to improve the recruitment process;
- Designing a culturally adapted employee engagement survey;
- Conducting assessments to identify areas for improvement and supporting the implementation of recommendations; and,
- Providing employee coaching and mentoring to HR managers.
The result is a revised HR structure designed to further support ongoing capacity building at the CSB and which has already been recognized as having a positive impact. “Internally, employees have seen a shift in the HR strategy and feel more confident in the CSB recruitment branding and in the HR department as a whole” – Natalie Petawabano, Director Human Resources
Testimonial
“My experience with Boreala has been very positive. Their professionalism and knowledge helped the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi better achieve its goals. We worked with Boreala on a very sensitive project. They were conducting diagnostic reports on how departments are functioning.
They dealt with the staff in a respectful manner and always treated individuals with dignity. They manage to balance truthful and honest feedback with staff and leadership while remaining professional. I was very impressed with how they navigated this very delicate project for our organization.
They never took over the sessions or overstepped their role as a facilitator to the process. They kept us on track to achieve what we set out to do. They were excellent and quickly learned how to work with all levels of our organization and created an environment of trust.“
Rhonda O. Cooper, Deputy Chief. Cree First Nation Of Waswanipi
Case Studies
Facilitating Organizational Redesign at the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay
