Ontario Announces New Municipal Modernization Funding Program

November 22, 2019

Shortly after the Province let the air out of the tires of the Regional Government Review convoy, it announced another round of funding as part of the new “Municipal Modernization Program” (MMP). Small and rural municipalities across Ontario now have access to an additional $125 million through 2022-2023.

This new program allows municipalities to apply for funding to “undertake expenditure reviews with the goal of finding service delivery efficiencies and lowering costs in the longer term.”

Some of the criteria include the use of an independent third-party reviewer who would identify savings and efficiencies. These reviews could include; a line-by-line municipal budget review, a service delivery review, modernization/technology opportunities, and a review of administrative processes, all in an effort to create efficiencies and reduce costs.

The reviewer would present an actionable series of recommendations and the threshold for these reviews is anticipated to be between $20k and $200k.

The Province requires the municipality to provide the local Municipal Services Office with its intent to participate in the program by November 22, 2019 and there is a formal application (Expression of Interest Form) that the municipality must submit by December 6, 2019. The timelines are rather tight in that the work can start November 1, 2019 with the production of a final public report by June 30, 2020.

Each submission will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and the Province determines which submissions are approved in the January – February 2020 time frame. The Province also requires the third-party reviewer’s draft report by June 15, 2020, with the intent that the final report would be posted publicly by the municipality by June 30, 2020.

If you are feeling somewhat rushed to make the timelines, the Province has also indicated a second round of applications will be considered in the spring/summer of 2020.

It’s rather unfortunate that the Province won’t make public their third-party reviewer’s report (Regional Government Review) so that municipalities could determine if some of the gems provided to the Province might be worth considering as part of this next phase of municipal modernization.

No doubt some of the suggestions made throughout the extensive consultation process may have provided some insight for the municipalities who now are tasked with establishing their priorities around the modernization program. Wouldn’t it have been great to capitalize on the work of Mr. Fenn and Mr. Seiling and launch into initiatives that had already been vetted by independent third-party reviewers?

Ontario is approximately $350+ billion in debt and once again committed millions more of taxpayers’ dollars to municipalities to look to find efficiencies and reduce costs.

At the end of this regional government review process the Province backed off and did not advance anything meaningful despite the expectations that changes would be forthcoming.

In an era of outdated governance models, aging infrastructure, strained debt capacity and lack of funding for programs and services, who are we kidding here?

Why do we still need to kick the tires?

Just saying…

So don’t, miss out on your chance, don’t let the short timelines intimidate you.

You are encouraged to express your letter of intent followed by your formal application in order to be considered for these additional funds. After all you are no longer the passenger but instead you have the steering wheel in hand.

We work with several municipalities across the Province. We know that there is still so much that your organization can do in order; to streamline your processes, to create efficiencies, to source and implement new technologies, to better respond to your customers, to improve your programs and services, to explore shared services and to ultimately save $$$$.

“You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results.”

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Using improvement methods of LEAN Six Sigma and AccessE11 technology we will make your organization; simpler, faster, better and less costly. We help you cut the red tape, remove the non-value-added activities and defects in your processes, improve customer service, help you to achieve measurable results and achieve a costs savings.

How Do I Set up a Webinar? Productivity Tools to Help

November 11, 2019

muniSERV’s professional members know that as part of their membership, we advertise their webinars directly to our municipal members. We know it’s hard to get past municipal gate-keepers so what better way is there to increase your visibility and credibility with municipal decision-makers, than with a webinar?

And our municipal members love webinars – particularly the free Lunch & Learn type webinars. We know this because our open and click-through rates for our newsletters are consistently higher than the industry average rates.

To be successful though your webinar must be educational and address a topic of interest to municipalities. Municipalities won’t register for your webinar if they think it’s just about “selling” your product or service.

Here’s What Our Members Say

“At Emergenetics we are always looking for strong, credible partners as we build our international brand in Canada and I have loved partnering with muniSERV and muniJOBS.

I am continuously impressed by the outreach opportunities we receive with our muniSERV membership, the response we receive to our webinars and the quality of the audience it attracts.”

Gail Green, President – Emergenetics Ontario April 2019

Ideas for Webinars

If you sell risk management software, provide some educational – or even scary statistics and inform municipalities on ways to mitigate online losses.

If you sell HR services, speak to the importance of performance reviews and what led you to develop your solution. You can even provide a sneak peek of your solution with a quick demo – but again, it must be delivered as a solution to the problem you are educating them on and not just a sales pitch for your services.

Here’s where I feel a bit hypocritical though. I know the value and the power of providing webinars (that’s why we encourage our members to do so), but I confess, that while I have co-sponsored some webinars, I have never actually set one up myself. (because shamelessly – I don’t know how to do it!)

So, in order for me to help you I had to help myself by learning how to conduct a webinar. Here are some tricks and tools I learned along the way.

Webinar Tools

Your webinar can be as basic as creating PowerPoint slides and delivering a webinar by using remote conferencing services that use cloud computing, such as Zoom or JoinMe.

I use Zoom to share my screen and provide online demos of muniJOBS. While I pay the annual fee for Zoom, you can use many of their features for free. However, their specific webinar service comes at an additional cost.

If you want folks to register for your webinar (and you will so you can gather leads), you will need a way to handle the registrations even if registration is free. There are many registration tools available, but one I’m familiar with is Eventbrite.

To create and deliver webinars you may want to consider using specific webinar software. Here’s an article by Joe Warnimont for codeinwp, that summarizes and compares the Best Webinar software of 2019.

Once you’re ready to start creating your webinar content, these Six Tips for Success are a great guideline to follow. Don’t forget to engage your audience with a poll, some direct questions or an icebreaker to make it interactive and fun. There’s nothing worse than listening to a “talking head”, with no opportunity to provide input or ask questions!

Also, be sure you turn off any chat windows and on-screen notifications that could (and will) pop up while sharing your screen.

And finally, be prepared with extra batteries for your wireless mouse and a fully charged headset – because we’re all well aware of Murphy’s Law!

EPA Reg. 347 C-12 Waste Transportation Driver Training

November 7, 2019

As described in Regulation 347, the transportation of municipal waste, liquid industrial waste or hazardous waste requires driver training in order to “ensure that wastes are effectively managed from the point of their generation to where they are ultimately processed or disposed of. To provide this necessary control, the regulation includes definitions for different waste types and detailed requirements for a range of waste management activities.” Source

If you have a waste management system that has an ECA (Environmental Compliance Approval) or registered EASR (Environmental Activity and Sector Registry), you will typically have a requirement for a certificate to be held in the waste transportation vehicle, indicating that the driver has received this training. The certificate must have specific information such as the driver’s name, the name of the business, the ECA or EASR number, it will also contain information such as the date the training was completed as well as the name and organization of the trainer that provided this training. The certificate should remain with the driver at all times while on-duty, as any regulatory officer can ask the driver to produce this card . Should the driver not have a compliant card or not have the card in his or her possession, fines can and will occur. It is also imperative that your company contacts the local municipality to find out what they consider hauled liquid waste, as this can vary from site to site.

In May of 2012, on the Trans-Canada highway, a septic tank truck caught the ditch and lost control, more than 3000 liters of raw sewage, seeped into a nearby creek, creating algae build-up and causing fish and other wildlife to suffer. Environmental impacts of this nature are incredibly difficult to rectify. The ongoing cost of water filtration, wildlife reintroduction, and forest rehabilitation can reach into the millions of dollars. Knowing how to respond to any type of spill you may have and reacting accordingly is imperative and can greatly reduce a chance of any environmental impact.

This government required training is put in place for the betterment of the employee(s), the environment and to reduce adverse affects to human health and the environment.

At MySDS Inc. we offer an online C-12 course, as well as an in-person instructor-led customized course (recommended for groups of 15+).

C-12 COURSE REGISTRY

The Biggest Mistake I See New Managers Make

October 10, 2019

When I became a manager, I made the same mistake myself. It’s the most common mistake that I see many first-time managers make. It’s a mistake that causes so much anxiety and stress in their lives, and it can be avoided. It’s a mistake that’s easy to make, but not so easy to fix.

I call it “The Expert Syndrome”. Let me explain…

In my case, my expertise got me noticed and got me promoted to a management position. I was on cloud nine. I was feeling euphoric. That’s when it hit me. My staff were not as “expert” as me. As a result, I unwittingly communicated to them that I was smarter, more experienced and certainly more effective at their work than they were.

This attitude of mine caused a very interesting dynamic to occur. They would bring me their work, and their problems to solve. I later discovered there was a name for this…upwards delegation! I found my in-tray and inbox overflowing with work that was certainly not managerial. The biggest issue I faced was that I loved the challenge, I loved being the expert!

I had to find a way to let go of the need to solve all their problems. That’s when my mentor showed up. He was an experienced manager, and quite successful too. He asked me to describe my role as a manager. As I reached for the job description that HR had given me, he stopped me in my tracks. “You don’t need that” he proclaimed. “Just tell me in your own words what your role as a manager is, and make it brief!”

I was stuck. You see, I thought that the role of a manager was complex and multi-layered. Too difficult to explain in just a few words. He left me to ponder on it for a few days. When we met again, I was still struggling to come up with a clear definition of the role of a manager. My mentor was not about to let me off the hook. He knew I was struggling, but he felt the struggle was natural and would pay off in the end. He left behind a little booklet titled “Servant Leadership” and suggested I read it.

That little booklet set me off on a journey that continues to this day. At times, it’s been a somewhat crazy yet exhilarating journey. I’ve now reached a point on that journey where I can explain the role of a manager in a few words, here they are:

Your Role As A Manager Is To Help Other People Succeed

Now I know, with all the articles, books, courses, online content on management and leadership out there, that this definition may seem to be overly simplistic to many of you reading this. I understand. It’s my definition, unique to me. It works extremely well for me. It may or may not work for you. I get that.

I learned along the way that all the management and leadership competencies (and there are many!) I needed to master could be summed up in what I call The Management Trilogy:

Daily Management – Leading with Values
Crisis Management – Leading with Valor
Strategic Management – Leading with Vision

You need to help others succeed in these three areas. When they succeed, you succeed.

To learn more about The Management Trilogy, subscribe to our free four-part online course at Management4m.com

Leadership Skills: You Can’t Become a Leader By Attending Courses on Leadership

October 1, 2019

Every successful leader I know learned to be a leader, not by attending classes on leadership, but by “being” a leader. When I look back on the successful leaders I personally know, and examine those larger than life leaders in history and business, a number of striking similarities emerge:

They were hell-bent on achieving an ambitious goal. This was their primary motivation.
They learned primarily, not from leadership models developed by leadership “experts”, but from real-life role models whom they admired.
They sought out trusted mentors who were not afraid to ask them the tough questions when they hit the inevitable roadblocks on the way to achieving their ambitious goal.
They mastered the relational, networking and communication skills needed to attract and retain the resources and talent that would help them achieve their ambitious goal.

I call the above the 4Ms:

Motivators
Models
Mentors
Mastery

I know many people who are leadership development professionals. I have the utmost respect for them. Yet every one of them I know will attest to the fact that despite billions of dollars spent annually on leadership development, effective leaders are still in very short supply. And the same leadership development professionals will tell you that the demand for inspiring, transformational leaders in their organizations is huge. I believe that people in organizations are disengaged for this reason alone.

Why is this? My own take on this is that leadership is a decision, not a position. By that I mean, if you really want to be a leader you need to make a decision to go after an ambitious goal. Too many people in leadership positions, especially senior ones, avoid this because their career and pay-check are guaranteed to them regardless of what they achieve. If a CEO decides to play it safe, then that decision has a trickle-down effect in their organization where everyone in a leadership position plays it safe. I’m not advocating reckless goal setting, but I am suggesting setting the bar high to begin with.

You start your journey to becoming a great leader by getting motivated to achieve an AMBITIOUS goal, not by attending more leadership development courses. Leadership skill-building and courses are important only after you make the decision to lead by setting an AMBITIOUS goal. If you are having trouble setting a truly ambitious or big goal, here are some real-world examples (some are missions/visions, some are strategic goals):

President John F. Kennedy: This nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.
Susan G. Komen® for the Cure: A world without breast cancer.
Novo Nordisk: To prevent, treat and ultimately cure diabetes.
FedEx: The World on Time.
Disney: We Make People Happy
Mattel: To be the premier toy brands — today and tomorrow.
Amazon: To build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.
SpaceX: Enable human exploration and settlement of Mars.
AIESEC: Engage and develop every young person in the world.
Google: Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
Microsoft: A computer on every desk and in every home.
Habitat for Humanity: A world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live.
SolarAid: Eradicate the kerosene lamp from Africa by 2020 through the creation of a sustainable market for solar lights.
Zappos: To provide the best customer service possible.

Leadership is a decision, not a position or title. So you first have to make a decision to lead others towards a worthwhile goal. After that, by all means, attend courses on leadership that will help you develop the skills and insights necessary to lead effectively.

About the Author

Brian Ward is co-founder and CEO of Affinity Consulting and Training. Based in Edmonton, Alberta he provides leadership and management development to organizations in the private and public sectors throughout Canada.

Receive a free downloadable copy of his book Lead People…Manage Things: Master The Five Key Facets of High-Performance Leadership when you subscribe to his weekly newsletter Monday Morning Mentor.

The Five Key Facets of High Performance Leadership

September 27, 2019

What makes a good or even a great leader?
Many people in leadership positions struggle with understanding what makes a good or even great leader. While billions of dollars are spent annually on leadership development, quality leadership is still in short supply.

Organizations have responded to the demand for effective leadership with a steady stream of education and training resources, which seem to be plentiful, (for example, at the time of writing, Amazon.com had over 9,000 references on leadership), yet most attempts at building high-performance leadership are either far too complex or too simplistic to be of any practical use to leaders who need to make things happen. So what does work?

While successful organizations focus on three imperatives: aligning strategy & people; developing world-class leaders; and building world-class teams, when we look at what successful leaders personally do to succeed, we find that they concentrate on building their capacity around what we call five key facets of leadership:

Focus – Authenticity – Courage – Empathy – Timing

Focus

Effective leaders stay focused on the outcomes they wish to create and don’t get too married to the methods used to achieve them. They provide this ‘outcomes focus’ for their organization by emphasizing the mission, vision, values and strategic goals of their organization and at the same time building the capacity of their organizations to achieve them.

This capacity-building emphasizes the need to be flexible, creative and innovative and avoid becoming fossilized through the adoption of bureaucratic structures, policies, and processes. It also means letting go of lines of business, products, and programs that don’t support the focus.

Authenticity

Leaders who are authentic attract followers, even leaders who are viewed as being highly driven and often difficult to work for. Simply put, they are viewed as always being themselves.and therefore followers know what to expect from them and can rely on them, come thick or thin.

Authenticity provides the leader with the currency to obtain ‘buy-in’ from key stakeholders, because it builds and maintains trust. Authenticity is the bedrock upon which the other facets are built.

Courage

The challenges facing leaders today are immense and require great courage to overcome. Leaders are constantly being challenged by others, be it their own team, customers, the public or stakeholders. Standing firm in the face of criticism, yet having the courage to admit when they are wrong, are hallmarks of courageous leaders.

Also, shifting an organization from being introspective to becoming customer-focused requires courage when people pay lip service to the new direction…it means calling people on their bluff.

Empathy

Effective leaders know how to listen empathetically. thus legitimizing others’ input. By doing so, they promote consensus building and build strong teams. They coach others to do the same, and so create a culture of inclusiveness. They tend to be great listeners who capitalize on the ideas of others and provide recognition for these ideas, yet they don’t get bogged down in overly complicated dialogue.

While they create learning organizations that place a high value on dialogue and continuous feedback, they know when to take action, when to ‘fish or cut bait’, which brings us on to the fifth facet…

Timing

The one facet that can make or break a leader is in knowing when to make critical decisions and when not to. All of the other facets must be viewed as subservient to getting the timing of critical decisions and actions right. There is a need to be focused, authentic, courageous and empathetic, but get the timing wrong on critical decisions and everything else stands to be nullified.

Great leaders move with appropriate speed. They don’t believe that everything must be done immediately…they know how to prioritize, and how to get their team to prioritize. As well, they engage in timely follow-through to ensure actions that are committed to happen in a well-coordinated and timely way.

Is that all it takes to be a great leader? These facets of high-performance leadership are not exhaustive. Just as one would look at the facets of a diamond, upon closer observation other facets become observable.

Any person can aspire to be a great leader by starting with these facets. If you are in a leadership role, regardless of your position in your organization, start by asking yourself the following key questions:

Key Questions
1. How focused am I? How much of my time do I spend communicating and inspiring people about our mission, vision and strategic goals? How much focus do I create in my organization? How married am I/my organization to methods that have outlived their usefulness?

2. Am I viewed as authentic? Do people see and hear the real me? Do I wear a mask at work, and remove it when I leave each evening?

3. How courageous am I when my values, vision, and goals are challenged? Do I stand firm and only change my position when I know that I am wrong?

4. How empathetic am I? Too much/too little? Do I create enough opportunities for open and candid dialogue? Do I ever find myself getting bogged down in consensus building, or leading my team to false consensus? Is there a feeling of inclusiveness and engagement amongst the members of my organization, and with other stakeholders, including customers?

5. Do I make and execute decisions in a timely fashion? Do I know when to ‘fish or cut bait?’ – do I demand well-coordinated and timely execution of strategy from others?

What can you do to create a high-performance leadership culture? Asking these questions in a candid way will open up many possibilities for you, your organization or your clients…if you have the courage to do it. Building and sustaining a high-performance leadership culture takes time, patience and a clear focus on the vital few characteristics that leaders can develop naturally and authentically.

Listening to what people expect from you as a leader, and then responding empathically, in a timely fashion, will move you dramatically towards mastering these five key facets of high-performance leadership.

Above all, you need to TAKE ACTION.

About the Author

Brian Ward is co-founder and CEO of Affinity Consulting and Training. Based in Edmonton, Alberta he provides leadership and management development to organizations in the private and public sectors throughout Canada.

Receive a free downloadable copy of his book Lead People…Manage Things: Master The Five Key Facets of High-Performance Leadership when you subscribe to his weekly newsletter Monday Morning Mentor.

The Benefits of Digital Training

September 16, 2019

The manner in which technology has become a part of our daily lives has grown exponentially with each passing day. Working with, and taking advantage of technology has made us capable of reaching new heights of communication and has improved our ease of access to information. Finding new careers has never been easier, and neither has completing the training to go with them. When you’re able to offer online, digital training, the benefits are plentiful for not just the company, but the employees as well. Let’s take a look at some of the top benefits of offering digital training.

Flexibility

With the on-demand nature of digital training, employees are able to complete their courses on their own time. This can make everyone breathe a little easier. Employers can easily set out learning plans for employees and assign the course work with a deadline for completion, and staff are able to pick out the best time in their day to work on it. The whole training process can successfully accommodate everyone’s schedules, as the employer doesn’t have to dedicate extra resources to setting up a training day, hiring trainers and/or arranging to send employees to a training event on a specific day, and the employees can all work at their own pace.

Affordability

On-site training can be expensive. Having to pay the dedicated trainers to attend the workplace, to train the trainees can cause labour costs to soar quicker than you realize. Not to mention room rentals, catering costs for lunches and snacks, etc. These costs are even much greater if employees need to travel to off-site training courses. It just makes sense not to disrupt the daily operational activities at work and instead assign the training to a laptop, computer or phone.

Versatility

Digital training can encapsulate a whole variety of methods to keep it interesting, engaging, and, most importantly, retentive. Using more than just pages upon pages of text is crucial. Switching things up with videos, graphics and quizzes and even incorporating gamification keeps the pace moving while shaking things up for the trainee so they don’t get bored. It’s been proven that the more interactive digital training is, the more the learner will retain the information presented.

Accessibility

With access to phones, laptops, computers and tablets, training can be done on nearly any type of current device. The streamlined, ease of access to online training ensures that everyone is capable of getting on board. Never requiring more than an internet connection and an internet browser like Edge, Firefox, Opera or Chrome, logging in to an online training profile to complete the training on any and all devices, has never been easier.

Keeping municipal operations running smoothly while educating your employees can be stressful. However, be sure you’re setting aside dedicated time for employees during the day to work on their digital courses because squeezing courses in between other daily activities are just too disruptive and employees will view it as another task that has been added to them. You want to be sure they’re given the time to enjoy the courses and receiving the soft skills training they need to be ready for the job at hand. Taking the leap and investing in a digital training platform can ensure you are getting the best value for your training budget and that you have complete control over the learning and development plans for each individual in your organization. Consistency is key!

Course Quality Matters

Unfortunately, some digital courses can aptly be described as purely for entertainment value. If you’re simply wanting to check off a box that says an employee received training to comply with organizational policy, then a 20-minute entertainment-style digital course might fit the bill for you. That doesn’t mean that all 20-minute courses don’t deliver value – just be careful that you are getting value.

However, quality, certified digital courses will ensure your employees not only have taken the course but that they have comprehended and retained what they’ve learned because they will have been tested and graded. It seems to be a waste of time and money, and there’s no real value to the individual or the organization if they didn’t understand or retain important information that can help them to do their job better and better.

muniSERV is a leader in quality, certified digital training and learning development solutions for municipalities. Our new PERFORM® leadership soft skills training is used by governments, educational institutions, private enterprises and organizations worldwide to deliver tangible, real-life competency-based skills.

Through the use of free learning assessments to get learners started, PERFORM® is able to identify soft skills gaps and recommend a training solution targeted to key leadership development areas for your team. Ask us for the links to these free assessments.

Finding the right training organization to help you achieve your learning and development goals takes time. It’s more than just hiring someone who says they have the materials that meet your needs. Do your homework and go with proven, reputable training organizations and you’ll experience all the benefits of digital learning!

Chemical Inventory & Safety Audit : What You Need to Know

September 13, 2019

Setting up and managing a Chemical Inventory can be a difficult task, even when you think you have done your research or have prepared yourself with a spreadsheet or list to follow. The difficulty comes when you begin attempting to cross-reference Chemicals with the Vendor SDS, which may create significant problems if you are unable to do so.

Tracking chemicals in the workplace requires detailed knowledge of all possible “hiding places”. Chemicals can be found in the strangest places –and they can be easily overlooked.

It is not always obvious that certain items can also be considered “chemicals” – did you know that welding rods and certain building materials (IE. insulation batts, bricks) may be hazardous if exposure to by-products occurs? As a result, you may not be able to perform risk assessments for the whole site. Chemicals often interact explosively with other chemicals, so storage location may be a problem if you need to have multiple chemicals with a certain distance between them. The Inventory must identify the distance between chemicals so that appropriate incompatibilities reporting can take place.

Chemical Inventory and Safety Audit made easy…

Green Lights and MySDS will work with you to determine which procedures and information are necessary for your business.

We will conduct a physical inventory of all hazardous chemicals including *consumer products.

*Consumer products are products that do not require a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) when purchased by a consumer in a retail setting, however, some of these products do require an SDS when they are brought into the workplace (example: paints, hand soaps, inks)

We will compile a list including:

• Chemical name (i.e Acetone)

• Amount – unit of measure (i.e 1 litre)

• Container type (i.e Glass bottle)

• Manufacturer (i.e Aldrich)

• Exact location (i.e Building C, Warehouse Office, Shelf A)

We will also update the chemical inventory database when you:

1) Move to a new location

2) Acquire a new hazardous chemical

3) Your inventory volumes change more than 10%

4) You remove a chemical from your inventory

IMPORTANT NOTE:

A company must declare their inventory status even if there are zero chemicals in stock when their inventory is conducted.

Other areas that may need to be reviewed during a Chemical inventory or Safety Audit:

· Placarding

· Designated Substances

· CAS Numbers

· Hot-Spot Identification

· Chemicals Incompatibility reporting

· Hazardous Substances reporting

· Dangerous Goods reporting

· Radioactive materials, biological materials (or etiological agents), or controlled substances;

are maintained in separate tracking systems.

We do ALL the work. We keep you compliant!

Green Lights Environmental is the sister company of MySDS inc.

www.greenlightsinc.ca | www.mysds.ca

What is the difference between LEADERSHIP and MANAGEMENT?

July 24, 2019

In short: leaders create risk, and managers reduce it.

LEADERSHIP ANTICIPATES THE BEST OUT OF PEOPLE, AND MANAGEMENT ANTICIPATES THE WORST. While leadership invites others to follow, management ensures the followers are following.

Leadership is the act of inviting others to a new and better future. A leader inspires and creates change by casting a vision of a destination that is different, better, and achievable.

Management is the ensuring things happen by creating, communicating, and monitoring expectations. It tracks individual people to see that they perform as expected, as opposed to inspiring a number of them.

Leadership skills can be summarized as those skills relevant to interacting with large groups of people, and to inspiring and creating vision. Conversely, management skills are those which are relevant to interacting with individual people, and to specifying and monitoring performance.

Many of the skills required to lead people are also the ones used to manage people. However, the expression of these skills can be significantly different. For instance, a leader needs to effectively communicate to be compelling and inspirational, and a manager needs to effectively communicate to be precise and personal.

Because of the skillset overlaps between management and leadership, it is quite possible that a single person assumes either of these roles.

Want to learn more about leadership? Check out EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LEADERSHIP.

Why You Should Become an Asset Management Coordinator

July 22, 2019

Asset Management Coordinator – have you heard this of this career before?

Well, if you haven’t, you’re about to hear a lot about it from municipalities over the next little while.

Many municipalities are facing challenges to fund their infrastructure at levels that ensure their sustainability. With ageing assets, increased renewal needs and pressures from changing climate there is a need to do things differently and collaborate to address the “infrastructure gap”.

The end goal is for municipalities, provinces, and the federal government to leverage asset management planning to optimize infrastructure investment decisions. For example, in December 2017, the Province of Ontario passed O.Reg 588/2017 that sets out new requirements for asset management planning for municipalities.

This makes the need to hire Asset Managers and/or Asset Management Coordinators, even more important and urgent. Therefore this is a rapidly growing and expanding career in Canadian municipalities.

So what is asset management and why do municipalities need an Asset Management Coordinator?

What is Asset Management?

Asset management refers to the systematic approach to the governance and realization of value from the things that a group or entity is responsible for, over their whole life cycles. It may apply both to tangible assets and to intangible assets. Asset management is a systematic process of developing, operating, maintaining, upgrading, and disposing of assets in the most cost-effective manner.

What kind of background and training do I need to have for this career?

Many asset managers have engineering, finance and/or planning backgrounds but another key criterion is Project Management, as addressed in a recent Public Sector Digest webinar, “Hiring an Asset Management Coordinator”, sponsored by muniSERV /muniJOBS, as being integral to the success of someone looking to enter this career.

Municipalities reported that core competencies should be there but much more important is that you can tell them how you’d add value to the position. Because this is an emerging field, you have a great deal of liberty to build the position as you go. Articulate it in your cover letter. You may not have all the skills right now but if you’re willing to learn, municipalities are willing to provide you with the right training to do the job.

Top skills reported are;

Willingness to learn on the job
Systems thinking
Relationship building and
Communications skills.

At present, there are no courses available at universities, although, the Municipal Finance Officers’ Association of Ontario (MFOA)and Public Sector Digest can help.

For municipalities looking for an Asset Manager or Coordinator, muniJOBS has some candidates with Asset Management listed as one of their skills. To search candidates, simply register for a free Employer profile.

We connect municipalities and the businesses that serve them.

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