New Glasgow Evening News, November 26, 2003

Pictou County business people will have the opportunity to learn more about the state of the province's knowledge economy next week.
That's when David Quinlivan-Hall, voluntary report card chairperson, will
present the recently-released 2003 Nova Scotia Knowledge Economy Report Card. Next Monday's lunch meeting is being presented by the Rotary Club of New Glasgow and The Pictou County Chamber of Commerce and is designed to help highlight the report's research on human resource practices and company growth.

"David will come and talk about this year's report card, give us an overview on the findings," explained Doug Logan, a member of both the Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce. "An enormous amount of research went into this, it doesn't get published until it's well researched. So he'll be able to talk about some of the human resource practices that have a positive impact on company growth."

One of the reportıs messages is that if businesses donıt get their human
resource practices right, theyıre putting the future of their business in
peril, he added.

"There are a number of Nova Scotia companies profiled in the report card that have innovative human resource practices, including Michelin Tire," Logan said.

Nova Scotiaıs economy is in the midst of a transformation that includes an exodus of young people from rural areas, the out-migration of highly
skilled, highly-educated engineers and scientists and the competition for
skilled employees.

For businesses, the key issue is attracting and retaining good employees in the face of this trend. Quinlivan-Hall will discuss the connections between human resource practices and company growth and link research data with the actual experience and human resource practices of Nova Scotia companies.

"There's just a ton of information that's going to be discussed," Logan
said. "There are links established between being innovative in your H and R policies and company growth and performance. This is something that's relatively new, so he's going to be able to talk about these things."

The event will be held at 12:15 p.m. at Summer Street Industries on Monday, Dec. 1. Anyone interested in attending is requested to reserve a spot by Thursday by calling 755-2825. Cost of the lunch is $10 and copies of the report card will be provided to all luncheon participants at no extra charge.