b"MENTORSHIPHOW DOES A MENTORSHIP PROGRAM LIKE THIS ONEHAVE YOU GOT A PERSONAL STORY ABOUT HOWHELP TO BUILD A TALENT PIPELINE FOR THE INDUSTRY? MENTORSHIP HAS SOMEHOW IMPACTED YOU?ANAND:A mentorship program helps socialize the differentANAND:I was inspired by a relationship I had with a mentor early opportunities that young professionals or interns could beon in my career that has impacted my life not only from a profes-exposed to or might want to have visibility into, and thatsional standpoint, but from a personal standpoint, too. It started might not have that sort of access to through regular meanswith a focus on HR questions about different career paths, but of schooling or typical jobs that people know about. It allowsthe relationship grew organically to be more personal. My mentor connections to open up and allows for open conversations ended up being somebody who I'd consider a friend, and it allowed for careers that otherwise may not even be identified me to tap into someone who had so much more experience and as possibilities. helped me with gut checks on Am I making the right decision? or How do I navigate certain elements of the workplace, etc.? I have BRUNELLE:Human resources and relocation teams are verya strong belief that mentorship is something that everybody could often small, and that doesn't necessarily offer the opportunitybenefit from.to be mentored within the same company. So opening thisBRUNELLE:I had a chance to get mentored earlier in my career, mentorship program to a broader community offers a chanceand to me, it's very important to give back. That knowledge that to connect professionals and industry leaders who share ayou have either in relocation or any other type of workyou need common goal. Mentoring provides multiple benefits, suchto pass it on. This is how knowledge gets moved from one person as encouraging and empowering personal development,to another. New members can learn from it, and that's going to supporting the identification and achievement of career goals,help with attraction and retention as well. Everybody gets some-and also improving skills and knowledge. To me, this is reallything different out of it. It's all about how much you put into it going to be a way of retaining employees. If they have a chanceand what your connection is with your mentor or your mentee. In to grow within their industry, there's going to be a chance thatmy personal experience, mentorship served as a touchpoint with they want to develop even further. a senior leader, and that helped me navigate through some of the politics and even just bounce off ideas and learn from them. For JONES:It takes the knowledge of someone who's been in theme, it was very valuable, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.industry a long time and brings it forward so that someone entering it can start to wrap their head around all these differentJONES:Mentorship brings me a renewed passion for my work, components within relocation. You can do a course on it andand I enjoy it very much. My experience of it is not just that I'm whatnot, but to be able to get real-life examples from someone,teaching as a mentor, but I'm learning as well because I'm seeing and see how they've applied them, allows you to better see howthings from [the mentees] eyes. There are certain ways that some-you could apply them to your own circumstances. thing would have been done years ago, compared to what they're experiencing today. You can learn how to adjust your thinking.WHAT ARE CERC'S GOALS FOR THE INDUSTRYRELATIVE TO THE PROGRAM?ANAND:CERC is the go-to industry organization for all things tied to mobility, so from that perspective, its allowing us to really gather highly qualified mentors as well as junior folks and really help [develop] the next generation of talent who may not even know what this industry is or what it has to offer. I think on the reverse side, too, we really want this to be two-sided and not just what a mentor can share with a mentee. There also an opportunity for what we're calling reverse mentoring, where aM A RK E TPL ACEmentor can also learn from the mentee about things that maybe they are out of touch with, or are just newer to the world, to allow this to be doubly beneficial as opposed to just one way.BRUNELLE:There is so much knowledge out there. It's a lot wider than just relocating and moving an employee frompoint A to point B. Around that, theres taxes, there's immi-gration, and so much more. So the opportunity to share that knowledge with somebody who is new in the industry creates a stronger bond within the community as well. Baker Tilly WM LLP.JONES:A lot of it is going to be about building strong ties withA leading, independent audit, tax & advisory firm.the CERC membership. I think a mentee is probably somebodyWhether your business is local or global, we can provide the who's new to the membership, [so its about] being able to getsolutions you require, inspired by a commitment to excellence them grounded [with] a firm foundation in the membershipand passion to foster client success. We invite you to discover and the importance of it. I think that having someone else who'show Baker Tilly WM LLP can be of service to you.been around for a while and understands the importance of the camaraderie that comes with the mentoring is going to beJohn Demetri, Incorporated Partner Tax.important for CERC. (604)-558-7577 / john.demetri@bakertilly.cabakertilly.caSpring 2024PERSPECTIVES19"