Kompass Blog

Many people aspire to become managers. They want the added challenge, authority, and salary that comes with moving from team member to team leader. They work hard, put in the time, and get that promotion.

Photo: Janet Guaca, online project management expert and educator

Even as pandemic restrictions ease, many organizations are sticking with remote or hybrid working arrangements. A recent Statistics Canada surveyfound that 25 per cent of Canadian adults still work from home at least part of the time.

We developed the Online Project Management certificate to help team leads and managers thrive in this reality. 

This week, we interviewed the instructor, Janet Guaca, a virtual project management expert with over 20 years of experience in the field.

She walks us through some key challenges project managers are facing right now, and how this course can help.

Are you eager to take on a new challenge in your human resources career? Ironically, HR professionals spend much of their time helping employees with their career development, but they often neglect to devote the same care and attention to their own advancement.

The good news is that there are concrete steps you can take to improve your HR skills, impress your boss, and get where you want to go.

Read on for eight practical tips on how to advance your HR career.

Years of underfunding, stigmatization, and lack of education have created mental health crises in many communities across the globe. Everywhere you look, you see the consequences of these trends.

And the problem is only getting bigger and more complex—especially in the wake of the pandemic.

If you're working in a front-line, community-serving role, you're probably experiencing the consequences of Canada’s mental health crisis up close and in very personal ways.

That’s why Kompass developed a new and improved version of its Community Mental Health and Addictions certificate. The enhancements were designed to make the course content even more relevant to today’s realities.

Read on to see what’s changed—and what hasn’t.

Over the last few years, we've seen a tremendous increase in corporate training programs in diversity and inclusion. Leaders are finally recognizing the critical importance of fostering a genuinely inclusive workplace culture.

The problem is, management often lacks the skillset and knowledge needed to recruit, nurture, and retain a diverse workforce.

Pamela Perez has built a career around helping companies navigate this challenging process. She has a proven track record in human resources, with a specialization in diversity and inclusion training, coaching, and consulting.

And now, Pamela has signed on to teach the new Diversity and Inclusion certificate at Kompass Professional Development.

We interviewed her this week to learn more about her background and what skills she'll be teaching in class. Read on for the highlights.

Over the past several years, mediation has become an increasingly popular method of resolving differences outside of court. Instead of passing judgment and imposing a decision, a mediator facilitates communication between the parties and helps them reach a resolution they can both accept.

Mediation can be used to settle a diverse range of disputes, including those related to family or business relationships, employment, tenancy, property damage, and more.

This post will explore the top five types of mediation, examine specific examples of common disputes in each type, and help you to discover the advantages mediation provides.

Considering becoming an arbitrator, and struggling to navigate the confusing array of professional designations available in Canada?

Here's the scoop: technically, you don't need an official designation to become an arbitrator in Canada. However, those who obtain accreditation through a recognized association enjoy a much higher degree of credibility.

The Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Canada (ADRIC), along with its regional affiliates, is a leading provider of professional designations to arbitrators across the country.

In this post, we outline the different levels of accreditation offered through ADRIC and explain what it takes to achieve each one.

Read on to get a clearer sense of the path you can follow to launch a successful career in arbitration.

Updated April 2023

Considering a career in mediation? Your first priority is to understand the types of mediation certification available in Canada, at both the regional and national levels.

It can get a bit confusing because technically, mediation is not a regulated profession in Canada. There is no legally mandated training or licensing process for mediators.

However, Canada does have a powerful organization that sets clear standards and guidelines for mediator training and professional practice. This organization is called the Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Canada (ADRIC). It encourages mediators and arbitrators to self-regulate by offering a variety of designations that are highly respected across the country.

It comes down to this: if you want to be recognized as a competent mediator, you'll need to earn a designation from the ADR Institute.

So where do you begin? What rules and steps must you follow to become a certified mediator?

In this post, we break down the process from start to finish. Here's what you need to know.

Arbitration, mediation, and conciliation are popular forms of dispute resolution that offer interesting and diverse career opportunities.

People pursue alternative dispute resolution (ADR) training and accreditation for a number of reasons. Some aspire to become professional mediators or arbitrators. Others are simply looking to handle conflict better in their personal relationships or workplace.

It’s certainly an industry in demand. From business disputes to divorce settlements, people are turning to ADR as a more flexible, less costly, and more time-effective means of resolving conflicts.

Arbitration, mediation, and conciliation offer three different approaches to conflict resolution. They differ in terms of procedure and outcomes, as well as training and accreditation.

In this post, we guide you through clear definitions of arbitration versus mediation and conciliation, including applications along with pros and cons. Let's get started.

Mediation has become an increasingly popular option for settling family disputes in Ontario. It’s typically quicker, more cost-effective, and less adversarial than going to court.

Mediators need to prepare and support their clients to make sure each party can participate fully. They need to be alert to anything that can adversely affect a client's ability to engage in the process, such as mental health issues or family violence.

That's why they meet with each party beforehand to understand the factors involved. This is known as pre-mediation, or "screening in."

Thinking about a career in mediation? Keep reading to learn what the intake process involves and why it’s so important.