Human Resources

Resolute Forest Products’ long-term competitiveness is tied its ability to recruit, develop and retain top-quality employees with the right skills. We are committed to implementing new human resource practices to retain employees and renew our workforce. Our focus is on implementing new leadership and human resources practices to create an inclusive workplace. We are building a strong corporate culture that attracts results-driven and action-oriented employees and allows natural leaders to grow.

As part of our commitment to developing an understanding of the attraction and retention challenges faced in each of our operating regions, our corporate human resources team continues to execute development plans for each of our operations, while:

• Continuing to focus on our emerging talent program, the promotion of employee referral program and the development of our diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) strategy
• Deploying our learning and development strategy, including the Resolute power skills initiative
• Assessing 1,094 salaried employees through our demonstrated effectiveness appraisal process, including 18 performance review sessions bringing together managers

In 2023, we hired 1,165 new permanent and temporary employees, including 136 foreign workers in Quebec, and 62 in Ontario, raising our employer profile through targeted recruitment practices. We also recorded 240 internal promotions and worked diligently with employees and union leadership on the mutually beneficial renewal of collective agreements. For more information, please visit our Labor Relations page.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We have in place a Diversity Policy designed to ensure equal consideration and opportunities to all employees. In 2022, while we were a public company, Resolute adopted a board of directors-level diversity policy to achieve a minimum of 30% representation of each gender (ie. male and female) by 2024, building on the executive leadership level diversity policy that acknowledges diversity as a key factor in the company’s talent management strategy. In 2023, we also sensitized 100% of new employees on workplace respect and civility at Resolute and provided training on the topic to 100% of managers, including the executive team.

 In early 2024, Resolute progressed toward gender parity by earning a bronze-level 2023 Parity Certification™ for our commitment to supporting women’s leadership. Created by Women in Governance, a Canadian non-profit organization founded in 2010, the certification program supports women in career advancements and promotes increased representation of women across all sectors and leadership roles. Resolute’s bronze ranking was based on the concrete actions put in place to increase gender equity across the company.

The first meeting of our DE&I working committee took place in early 2022. Reporting directly to Resolute’s executive team, the committee is composed of employees from all business segments as well as our corporate office, and provides recommendations and input relating to DE&I projects and initiatives. Its members act as ambassadors within their business segment and throughout the company. In 2023, the committee deployed a company-wide communications plan to promote awareness, understanding, and engagement in efforts to foster a more inclusive workplace culture. This year, the committee plans to develop new objectives and activities, including recommendations from cross-functional groups addressing challenges faced by women in the organization.

These initiatives, combined with innovative immigration policies and programs, are providing solutions to our staffing challenges. 

Ethics Codes and Human Rights

Strong corporate governance drives Resolute to maintain rigorous policies related to ethics, business conduct and fundamental human rights, including a Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, an independent ethics reporting hotline/helpline and a Human Rights Policy. Senior management reviews these and other internal policies on an annual basis, following an initial review conducted by managers and issue experts. Our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct provides an important framework that ties in many other policies and implementation mechanisms related to various laws (anti-corruption, anti-bribery, harassment-free workplace) and ensures compliance in environmental reporting, legal compliance and ethics reporting.

All employees are trained on the requirements of the company’s Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, and we are committed to training every new employee we hire.

With respect to human rights, Resolute reports to the Canadian Minister of Public Safety to comply with Canada’s Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act. We recognize the critical role of sound supply- and value-chain management in upholding our commitment to human rights. The company is committed to ensuring its supply chain is free of practices that violate individual freedom and dignity. We strictly prohibit child labour and forced labour under any circumstances, and we do not tolerate its use by contractors and suppliers. For more information on our policies and due diligence processes, please consult our 2023 Report.

Renewal Strategy

We believe our employees are an important factor in our success and that investing in new talent strengthens the foundation of our business. Over the next few years, many of our long-term workers will be taking a well-deserved retirement, and we will need to attract skilled candidates who are motivated and eager to learn. Through our Emerging Talent program, we have built a workplace where our employees can learn, grow and contribute.

We have also ramped up efforts to recruit skilled employees in a more targeted way. In addition to participating in career days, open house events at schools and other community activities, we involve our current employees in recruitment efforts through our Employee Referral program, which is designed to attract quality candidates, increase the overall speed of recruitment, and improve hiring success rates.

While recruitment is important, we are equally committed to ensuring our current employees are consistently motivated and engaged. Our human resource teams work hard to: promote individual professional development goals; support sharing of knowledge and resources across the company; and create opportunities for growth and learning wherever possible. We assess 100% of salaried employees’ effectiveness through our performance appraisal process, which is focused on enhancing organizational capability through managerial accountability and people development.

For more information on how Resolute measures and reports on employee hires and turnover, visit the Key Performance Indicators page.