Q4 has a funny way of sneaking up on you. September starts and it feels like there’s loads of time left in the year. Then you blink. It’s November. Someone is asking about the holiday party. Performance reviews need to happen. Budgets are due. Half the team has vacation days to use. And everyone wants to know what the plan is for next year. So, before we get there, let’s talk about Q4. September gives leadership teams a really useful window to step out of the day-to-day and a

There’s something about September that feels like a fresh start. Summer vacations are wrapping up, calendars are filling up, proposals are moving again, and everyone seems to be back at their desks. And all those things we said we’d deal with “after summer”? Well, it’s after summer. September is a good time to take stock of where the business is, what needs attention, and what actually needs to get done before Q4 takes over. Because there’s still plenty of year left to make t

For many families, September feels like a second New Year. The return to school brings new routines, changing schedules, extracurricular activities, and the inevitable last-minute surprises that come with family life. For working parents, it can be one of the busiest transitions of the year. For employers, back-to-school season presents an opportunity to support employees while continuing to meet operational goals. The key is recognizing that flexibility and accountability ca

Learning is no longer something that happens once a year during mandatory training. Today, continuous learning plays an important role in employee engagement, innovation, retention, and long-term business success. Organizations that create a strong learning culture are better equipped to adapt to change, retain great people, and prepare their teams for what’s ahead. Just as importantly, they create workplaces where employees feel valued, challenged, supported, and empowered t

Hiring the right people is one of the most important investments a business can make. The right employee can strengthen your team, improve productivity, and contribute to your long-term success. But finding that person is often easier said than done. For many small and mid-sized businesses, recruitment is added to an already full workload. Business owners and managers are balancing operations, customer service, and strategic planning, all while trying to review resumes, coord

July is one of Alberta's most vibrant months. From Canada Day celebrations to the excitement of the Calgary Stampede and countless community events taking place across the province, it's a time when businesses connect with their communities, strengthen relationships, and celebrate what makes Alberta such an incredible place to live, work, and grow. At VIMY HR, we know that behind every successful business is a team of dedicated people. Whether you're a small business, a growi

As a business owner or leader, your success is closely tied to the success of your people. Yet many leaders find themselves caught in a cycle of answering questions, solving problems, and making decisions for their teams. While managing is an essential part of leadership, relying solely on management can limit employee growth and create unnecessary dependence on leadership. Coaching, on the other hand, helps employees develop the confidence and skills they need to succeed ind

Leadership is often associated with decision-making, strategy, and business performance. While these skills are important, they are only part of what makes a leader effective. The ability to understand and manage emotions, both your own and those of others, plays a significant role in how leaders build trust, navigate challenges, and create positive workplace cultures. This ability is known as emotional intelligence, and it has become one of the most valuable leadership skill

Intern season usually starts with a lot of optimism. You bring someone into your business who is motivated, capable, and genuinely interested in learning, and it feels like a great opportunity on both sides. You are giving someone a chance to gain experience, and at the same time, you are bringing fresh energy into your team. Then the day-to-day reality sets in. Your team is already busy managing their own responsibilities, deadlines continue to move, and the intern natura

May has a way of bringing everything to the surface all at once. Your team has more going on outside of work, with sports schedules picking up, school events filling calendars, and family commitments taking more time and energy. At the exact same time, the demands of the business are not slowing down, which means the pressure does not ease up anywhere. This is usually when leaders start to feel the tension more clearly. You want to support your people in a way that feels fair

Most businesses do not realize how much they have outgrown their HR. Not because something has gone wrong, but because things have slowly become harder than they should be. A conversation takes longer than it used to. A decision feels less clear. An issue comes up that carries more weight than expected. Individually, none of these seem like a problem. Together, they are a signal. Why HR is usually the last thing to get cleaned up Founders and operators do not ignore HR. Th

Bonuses are one of the few moments in a business where everything feels aligned. Performance has been measured. Decisions have been made. Compensation has been delivered. For a brief period, there is a sense that things are settled. And then, almost as quickly, that feeling fades. Not because the bonuses were wrong. Because bonuses, on their own, do not carry anything forward. They recognize what has already happened. They do not define what comes next. The quiet drop-off

There is a stage in every growing business when what once felt efficient starts to feel unpredictable. In the early days, informal HR works. Expectations are shared quickly. Decisions happen in real time. Flexibility feels like culture. Everyone is close enough to fill in the gaps. But growth changes the equation. A performance issue lingers longer than it should. A termination feels more complicated than expected. Managers handle similar situations differently. A strong empl

When Alberta businesses talk about growth, the conversation tends to focus on revenue targets, new contracts, and expansion into new markets. But sustainable growth does not start with numbers. It starts with leadership. And behind every leader who is free to do that work well is a people infrastructure built to hold. Growth Reveals What You Have and What You Don’t In the early stages of a business, energy and agility carry the team forward. Roles are flexible. Communication

For most leaders, recognition is something they know they should do. But in the middle of running a business, leading teams, and managing performance, it can fall to the bottom of the list. The truth is, recognition often gets framed as a nice gesture. A bonus add-on for when there's time. But what if we reframed recognition as a strategic leadership tool? Because that’s exactly what it is. Why recognition matters, especially during growth In a small company, recognition happ

As a founder or senior leader, you're likely already focused on building a strong culture. One where your team is engaged, aligned, and growing alongside the business. You’ve put values on the wall, built a hiring process that reflects your standards, and you genuinely care about your people. But there's a difference between a team that functions and a team where people truly feel they belong. Many leaders assume belonging will naturally follow if the culture is “good.” But b

Most people have a rough idea of where they want their career to go. Fewer people have a plan that helps them get there. “Grow my skills.” “Move into leadership.” “Do something more meaningful.” All reasonable goals. Also completely useless without structure. That’s where a Professional Development Plan comes in. Not as a bureaucratic exercise, but as a practical tool to connect today’s work with tomorrow’s opportunities. Done well, it creates clarity, momentum, and shared ac

Most leaders don’t struggle with setting goals. They struggle with setting goals that actually change anything. The goals are there. The dashboards are full. The team meetings happen. And yet, somehow, the same issues keep showing up quarter after quarter. This isn’t a motivation problem. It’s a goal design problem. We often confuse activity with progress. Goals get written around launching a new initiative, rolling out a process, or hitting a numerical target. These drive a

Every December, we pause. Not just to wrap up projects or check off the last few goals, but to look at the bigger picture. At VIMY HR, we believe the end of the year is the perfect time to take a deep breath, reflect on everything we’ve learned, and start thinking about what’s next. And if this past year taught us anything, it’s that HR is not just supporting the future of work. It is the future of work. So let’s talk about what 2025 showed us, where we see HR heading in 2026

At VIMY HR, we believe how you show up in your community says just as much about your company as your bottom line does. As the year winds down, we've been thinking a lot about what it really means to give back, not just during the holidays, but throughout the year. Because for us, community involvement isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s part of how we work, how we connect, and how we grow. Giving Back Isn’t Just Good. It’s Good Business. Most people want to work for companies that