Monthly Archives: March 2021

Newsletter #7

Interview Tips

Want to ace your next interview? Try using the STAR framework when answering questions.​

Example:  Tell us about a time that you had to handle conflict within a team.

S –      Specific Situation – What happened?​

“My team of four had a deadline and one member had not contributed their share to complete the project.  This caused friction with the rest of the team.”

T-       ​Task – What were you trying to achieve?​

“The project was due in five days and we realized we would not get it done without his contribution.  Through conversation, I discovered that he was having some personal issues.”

A-       Action – What steps did you take?​

“I asked what I could do to help him make the deadline.  He asked for some other things to be taken off his plate temporarily.”

R-       Result – What was the outcome?​

“He was able to focus on his deliverables and the group was able to complete the project successfully and on time.”

 

San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety

In our Strategic Plan 2019 – 2024, Fleming College has made a commitment to: Strengthen our relationship with Indigenous Peoples by helping to create opportunities in post-secondary education, and actively participating in the process of reconciliation by ensuring all students and staff gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of Indigenous peoples, their ways of knowing and histories.

To work towards a deeper understanding and appreciation of Indigenous people, Fleming College launched a training initiative in May 2019 for employees to participate in a large-scale, online, Indigenous Cultural Safety training program called San’yas. This is an 8-10 week online training program facilitated by the Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre. Information on the three different program offerings can be found here.

There are a few spots remaining in this offering. If you’re interested in participating, please speak with your manager for approval and have them email pd@flemingcollege.ca to reserve your seat before March 31, 2021.

Resiliency @ Fleming – Keynote Speaker – Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe

Did you want to attend but couldn’t?

With stress, uncertainty, and unrest at a record high, Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe’s message was both inspirational and practical. She introduced her “Five Pillars of Resiliency”, and shared strategies to help foster each pillar in ourselves and others based on research-informed best practices and real-world applications.

Robyne’s session generated an abundance of positive feedback from our colleagues and community, check out the recording of this session and more here.

It is never too late to make yourself priority!

 

Public Sector Salary Disclosure – the “Sunshine List”

Did you know that there were 27 bi-weekly pays in calendar 2020?  That means some employees who would not normally appear on the “Sunshine List” have been included this year because their T4 earnings from Box 14 less Box 40 (taxable benefits) exceeded $100,000.

In March of each year, as a provincially-funded organization, the College is required to report the earnings and taxable benefits of all employees who earned more than $100,000 in the calendar year. Only the name, job title, earnings and taxable benefits are included in the release.

Reminder: CAAT Pension Plan Webinars

Have you wondered how much money you’ll need for retirement? Or interested in learning more about the pension plans offered through the College’s of Applied Arts and Technology? You’re in luck, there are several webinars hosted by CAAT pension plan in the coming weeks. Check out the webinar offerings here.

Planning to Retire in June? 

The end of June tends to be a common retirement date for College employees.  CAAT advises that you should start the process 3 months in advance to ensure a smooth start to your pension.  Please access the links below for more information, and feel free to reach out to benefits@flemingcollege.ca with any questions or to initiate the process.

https://department.flemingcollege.ca/hr/benefitspension/retirement/

https://www.caatpension.ca/members/planning-your-retirement/im-ready-to-retire

Newsletter #6

T4’s

By now you might have seen your T4 on-line and noticed 4 new boxes in the bottom section.  Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that all Canadian employers must report certain employment payments on the 2020 T4 slip, “Statement of Remuneration Paid”, using new information codes that correlate to defined periods. According to the CRA, this additional information is intended to validate payments made to individuals under the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) programs, as well as payments made to employers under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS).

The T4’s new information codes must be used to report employment income and retroactive payments to employees paid in the following time periods:

  • Code 57: Employment income – March 15 to May 9
  • Code 58: Employment income – May 10 to July 4
  • Code 59: Employment income – July 5 to August 29
  • Code 60: Employment income – August 30 to September 26

For more details review the CRA website New T4 Boxes 57- 60.

If you need a refresher on how to access your T4, please see below:

 

Did you hear…Award season is around the corner

Do you work with someone that excels in everything they do? How about a colleague or team that makes outstanding contributions to Fleming College by helping us move closer to our Strategic Goals? Or what about a co-worker that consistently displays one or more of Fleming’s five values? Do you know anyone who empowers our students in a unique way? If you answered yes to any of these questions, nominate this person for a Spotlight Award. The deadline for submissions is March 5, 2021 at 5pm.

LinkedIn Learning

Have you ever wanted to learn more about project management? Project management techniques and principles can be used by anyone to help achieve goals and make projects more successful. These are just some of the reasons your colleagues have found the Project Management Foundations course to be so beneficial.

Fun Fact: LinkedIn Learning has been reviewed and approved by the PMI® Authorized Training Partner Program. The above-mentioned course qualifies for professional development units (PDU’s), if you have your PMP certification.

Fleming College offers a great variety of courses and learning materials to meet the academic needs of all staff, faculty, and students. Since November 2020, our community has been busy, having participated in many hours of LinkedIn Learning activities. Also, remember you can use LinkedIn Learning to brush up on some fundamental skills. Among the most popular courses taken in the last few months are Learning OneDrive, Learning Excel Desktop (Office 365), and Microsoft Teams Essential Training. What LinkedIn Learning course have you taken recently? Tell us here.

Tips for separating work life and personal life

After close to twelve months of working from home (for most of us), you have probably heard your colleagues and friends say “What day is it? Is it “blurs’day”?” Do you need help re-establishing the work/life balance you once had? Separating our work and personal lives can be difficult for many of us. Want some  The Muse has some great advice on this topic and James Clear, author of  Atomic Habits provides some powerful ways of forming new habits.