social performance

Our People

Enbridge Gas Distribution is among 80 Toronto area companies working to solve the job market challenge faced by professionals new to Canada. Skilled immigrants find it difficult to acquire suitable jobs as they lack Canadian experience. But without suitable job opportunities, they cannot acquire that experience. As a result, internationally qualified newcomers are often underemployed and businesses lose out on valuable talent.

Career Bridge, an innovative paid internship program administered by a Toronto-based not-for-profit organization, is trying to change that picture. Since the fall of 2005, Enbridge Gas Distribution has recruited seven interns through the program, all with excellent business credentials. Interns are placed from four months to one year, during which they are paired with a mentor and receive regular feedback and opportunities for professional development.

Daniela Perciasepe, Human Resources Business Partner, says Enbridge Gas Distribution has been very receptive to the program. “It’s a great way to provide opportunities for highly educated new Canadian residents who might not otherwise find work in their professional field. We value the international work experience and cultural diversity these individuals can bring to Enbridge, and we are pleased to be a part of helping them obtain the work experience they need.”

While it’s too early to assess program results, informal feedback from both managers and interns has been extremely positive.

Steve Noble, Director, Finance and Control, Enbridge Distribution Management Services Inc. says that Mahdi Dinian, an Accounting Analyst intern under his direction is well qualified and experienced and brings a lot of skills to the position.

Mahdi arrived in Canada from Iran about 18 months ago, armed with bachelor and master’s degrees in accounting, private school instruction in English, and seven years of experience in business and finance. He hopes his one-year internship will translate into a permanent position with Enbridge, which he describes as “a great place to work – nice people, well organized, sophisticated, one of the best companies in Canada.”

Where Energy Meets People, You’ll Find Opportunity.

People are the basis of our success at Enbridge. Our vision to be North America’s energy delivery leader depends on the commitment, development and performance of an engaged and highly skilled workforce across our company. We want, and need, to attract and retain the best talent, and invest in an integrated set of talent management initiatives to develop, engage and retain our workforce. At Enbridge, our employees have confirmed – through our annual employee engagement survey – that opportunities for challenging and rewarding careers are one of our strengths. Enbridge actively invests in the development of employees by providing a positive work environment, offering opportunities for skill and career development and offering competitive total compensation programs.

Top of page The Enbridge People Strategy

The Enbridge People Strategy was launched in 2005. This business strategy articulates five principles by which Enbridge proactively manages its relationship with our people. The Enbridge People Strategy was developed by senior leadership as a framework to support the development of policy, program and practice which demonstrate our belief that people are the basis of our success. In keeping with the recently formalized People Strategy, a number of new programs and initiatives are being undertaken to further reinforce Enbridge’s investment in our people.

Top of page Our workforce, our people

In 2005, Enbridge continued to expand its workforce through organic growth in alignment with business growth. At year-end, the Enbridge workforce was comprised of more than 4,600 regular employees both full-time and part-time, largely based in our Canadian and United States operations. In addition, Enbridge hires temporary and contract employees for projects and seasonal work and regularly collaborates with consulting organizations for specific project needs.

Top of page Managing Human Resources strategically

At Enbridge, Human Resources is a strategic partner in the guidance and operation of our business. The company-wide Human Resources (HR) Council, consisting of senior HR professionals representing all business units, is a mechanism by which the Human Resources function contributes to business leadership through sharing best practices, providing strategic direction and recommendations to senior management and stewardship of the management of human capital across all businesses. The HR Council’s Charter reinforces the council’s contribution and commitment to effective human resource policy and programs at Enbridge. Within our business units, Enbridge leaders manage people. The role of the individual leader to lead both the business operations and the team organization is central to our future workforce development. Individual leaders contribute daily to our employee engagement through effective employee relations, active development of employees, and the creation of positive and supportive work environments.

At Enbridge, our human resources programs help to facilitate the management of human capital; individual leaders manage people.

Top of page Performance management

Performance management at Enbridge is central to our ability to meet our business objectives and to create and sustain a high-performance workforce. Leaders support employees in effectively aligning their contributions with the strategic goals of Enbridge’s business. Leaders provide feedback to employees to guide their performance and development in each performance year. Effective performance management ensures strong performance, the ability to recognize and reward performance and the development of opportunities for advancement.

Individual leaders are encouraged to develop their ability to provide effective performance feedback, to recognize and reward effective performance and to support employees in their development planning.

The Enbridge Competency Framework identifies Core and Leadership Competencies that are valued at Enbridge – a framework that employees can apply in their development planning to prepare for opportunities at Enbridge. The Core Competencies are: customer focus, execution and results, flexibility, interpersonal skills and job/technical skills.

Top of page Total compensation

Our total compensation program is at the centre of our efforts to attract and retain talented employees, and is one of our key principles in our People Strategy. Total compensation consists of a variety of programs to reward and recognize employee contributions to our business success.

In 2005, we reviewed our total compensation program for competitiveness and effectiveness. This included evaluating the mix of plans offered and their features to ensure there is alignment to support the achievement of our company’s strategic objectives. As a result of this review, Enbridge’s Total Compensation Strategy was confirmed and existing programs were fine-tuned.

Total compensation at Enbridge consists of base pay, short- and longer-term incentive plans, benefits, pension and savings plans. Program design and administration is consistent across the company in most areas with some adjustments for local market conditions and the unique needs of each business. Pay for performance remains a strong theme in the total compensation program. Employee performance on an individual and/or group level is an integral part of our base pay and incentive programs. Our collective performance and success impacts our ability to provide competitive benefits, pension and savings and recognition programs for employees and their families.

In conjunction with various plan refinements, we launched a number of initiatives to increase communication about total compensation to all employees including all leaders. The purpose of this communication was to create a better understanding of not only the programs, but to engage our leaders in actively managing the total compensation of their employees. The initiatives will continue through 2006; however, the benefits of this are expected to endure for years.

Top of page Talent Management at Enbridge

At Enbridge, we define Talent Management as the full continuum of the employee relationship including: attraction; ‘on-boarding’; engagement; performance management; mentorship; succession management; employee involvement; and retention.

Enbridge has recently undertaken a number of new initiatives in support of the effective management of talent including a dedicated expansion of Leadership and Employee Development programs, services and initiatives within each business unit and across the company. We are committed to continuing to advance our culture of leadership and employee development at all levels of our organization.

Building on the strength of existing programs and policies, new initiatives include:

• expansion of mentorship programs within Enbridge;
• continued growth of participation in external mentorship programs;
• enhanced development planning programs, tools and resources;
• refinement of the Leadership and Employee Development Framework;
• development and delivery of new Leadership Development programs in each business unit; and
• continued expansion of external partnerships in support of bringing best-in-class curriculum to our leadership talent pools.

The Leadership and Employee Development function is managed through collaboration across all business units with business unit-based human resources professionals managing the design and delivery of employee development offerings in alignment with Enbridge’s leadership development framework and in response to local business needs. Integrated development programs for leadership pools are now in development. Leadership and Employee Development at Enbridge is a shared responsibility between the organization and the employee, and occurs through four primary processes:

• work experience – current role, volunteering, project assignments;
• formal learning – courses, learning programs, seminars and workshops;
• self-directed learning – reading and informal learning; and
• learning through relationships – learning leaders, mentors, industry peers.

Succession management continues to be of significant focus as we seek to attract, develop, engage, retain and promote our leadership of today and our leaders of tomorrow.

At Enbridge we seek to expand our external community-based partnerships in support of collaborative development of our communities, external talent pools and our leadership and employee populations. Two strong examples of this are:

• Mentorship – The Enbridge Undergraduate Mentorship Program, in partnership with the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business. Now in its third year, the program has expanded to include participation of 27 local business organizations whose volunteer mentors offer their time and expertise in supporting the development of business students as they plan for their career. Students and mentors both report strong value and positive experiences. (See story on the Workplace Health & Safety page.)
• Internships – In 2005, Enbridge began a collaborative relationship with CareerBridge, a program designed to provide opportunities to immigrants to Canada to gain experience relevant to their chosen career. At Enbridge Gas Distribution, a number of foreign-skilled individuals have found the opportunity to apply their skills and gain relevant Canadian workplace experience to support their entry into the permanent workforce. (See story on the Our People page.)

In addition to a broad offering of in-house employee development programs, Enbridge offers a Tuition Reimbursement Program to provide financial support to employees who are continuing to advance their education to support their career goals. Enbridge also offers a company-wide scholarship program to support access to education for children of employees.

Top of page Enbridge’s commitment to a diverse and inclusive work environment

Enbridge has a firm commitment to creating a healthy and positive work environment. The company’s workplace harassment and anti-discrimination policies denote our strong commitment to maintaining the dignity and respect of all employees. We also subscribe to the principles of a fair and equitable work environment.

Our work environment promotes a diversity of roles and enriched job experience through project work and participation on cross-functional teams. We also encourage our employees to take an active role in their communities through a variety of volunteer committees and United Way activities.

Each of our businesses recognizes the special achievements of our employees on an ongoing basis. These activities include service awards, monetary gifts, recognition in our internal communications and opportunities for challenging assignments.

Enbridge’s diverse workforce is represented by multiple generations, members of minority groups, increasing frequency of women in leadership roles, and accommodates employee interest in options for alternative work arrangements. Enbridge’s participation in community-based educational initiatives with community partners such as The Bow Valley College in Calgary and Career Bridge in Toronto enable greater diversity in our workforce.

Our workforce statistics for 2005 were as follows: a 71 per cent male and 29 per cent female workforce with an average age of employees of 43.66 years. Turnover as a percentage of workforce population, for the year ending Dec. 31, 2005, was 8.8 per cent of the total workforce.

Top of page Employee communications

Effective internal communications and employee relations are of strategic importance to Enbridge, particularly as we continue to grow and develop our workforce to support our business growth. We seek to foster an environment committed to open and frank communication with a dedicated channel for employee upward feedback and input. We actively engage our employees in exchange of information and communications through:

• annual employee meetings;
• enhanced Human Resources communications practices and tools;
• our intranet and employee newsletters;
• regular e-mail updates to employees;
• business performance review videos;
• local face-to-face sessions that enable employees to meet our CEO and share their questions, issues and recommendations;
• local manager and leader updates to employees;
• local and regional EH&S committees and working groups, where employees and management meet regularly to discuss local issues; and
• active employee social clubs.

Each year, Annual Employee Meetings are held across the organization within each local business unit to ensure employees receive and exchange information with regard to the company’s plans for strategic growth. These forums provide an opportunity for employees to meet with our CEO, local senior leadership and guests to discuss the challenges and opportunities for Enbridge, and engage in a discussion about the issues that matter to them.

In 2005, we held Annual Employee Meetings in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary and Houston. Question and answer segments in the annual meetings ensured employee questions and input were addressed including inquiries about the business strategy and growth, workforce planning, strategic projects, total compensation, the development of women in leadership roles, employee engagement programs and leadership development opportunities.

Top of page Employee involvement and engagement

As a central component of Enbridge’s commitment to our people, the annual Employee Perspectives Project offers a dedicated channel for communication to our employees. Through the use of a company-wide employee engagement survey, Enbridge annually invites employees to contribute feedback and their perspectives. The project is a focused initiative that supports leadership at Enbridge in responding to opportunities to reinforce, evolve or enhance our policies, programs and practices in support of our people and the Enbridge People Strategy.

In the 2005 Perspectives Survey, 65 per cent of Enbridge’s workforce participated, with 72 per cent of respondents indicating that they ‘would, without hesitation, highly recommend Enbridge to a friend seeking employment’.

Enbridge leaders apply insights gained from employee input in their daily management of their organizations and their deployment of programs and practices. On an ongoing basis, leaders monitor and communicate their activities in support of enhancing our employee engagement and delivering against our People Strategy.

Top of page Labour relations and collective bargaining

We believe that healthy and productive labour relations contribute to our company’s long-term success, and we have designed our labour relations strategies to maintain and foster a cooperative approach between the company and the various unions and Joint Industrial Councils (JICs.)

For example, all unions (except the I.B.E.W. at St. Lawrence Gas) and JICs, participate in incentive compensation programs based on the achievement of the company’s strategic goals. In 2005, we established several joint workforce model committees in partnership with the unions to review and make recommendations on hours of work, work location and work functions, as a result of various operational changes.

We provide ongoing labour relations training and education for our managers and supervisors to help them understand our company’s labour relations strategy and programs, and to update them on changes in collective agreements. In 2005, 40 managers and supervisors in Canada and the United States received this training.

In 2005, in the United States, Enbridge is well positioned with our unions with three new four year collective agreements in place. These were the first four-year collective agreements negotiated by Enbridge.

Early in 2006, in Canada, Enbridge negotiated a new four-year deal with the four JICs in Liquids Pipelines. These were the first four-year agreements negotiated with the JICs. In addition, Enbridge negotiated a new three-year deal with the JIC at Enbridge Gas Storage. The current collective agreement between Enbridge Gas Distribution and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) expires Dec. 31, 2006. Union density at Enbridge is currently 24 per cent.

Enbridge’s grievance procedure for unionized employees has a formal mechanism for resolving workplace issues. Employees can raise issues and concerns with their managers or local union representatives. There were 20 formal grievances filed in 2005. Issues involved included rate of pay, contracting-out and termination.

Top of page Business Unit, Union and Joint Industrial Council