The Board of Directors of Hockey Quebec, which is trying as best they can to hide under the rug the toxic labor relations that have contaminated the head office of the federation in recent years, widely distributed this summer a call for applications to fill the strategic position of Director General.
And according to several sources, the candidates on the final list will be interviewed next week. I will come back to this later.
Hockey Québec is going through a pivotal period in its history. Registrations are steadily declining in the categories where children are introduced to hockey. Internally, experts have already sounded the alarm. The organization is also facing a serious leadership crisis, in addition to being dusted by an outdated mode of governance.
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In December 2020, a survey by Radio-Canada Sports revealed that the staff turnover rate and the absenteeism rate had become alarming since the appointment of Paul Ménard, on August 26, 2016, as general manager.
Fifteen people interviewed explained that a constant distrust had developed between employees and management. Mention was made in particular of cases of contradictory directives, written reprimands for peccadilloes, employees surreptitiously relieved of their files, micromanagement of veterans in post for several decades, lack of communication and even conflicts between the management of HQ to the U-18 AAA League (formerly known as the Midget AAA League). This development circuit is however a long-standing partner and the jewel of the federation.
At the beginning of December, when this survey was published, 50% of the 22 employees of the federation had left their jobs since the appointment of Paul Ménard. Six months later, Mr. Ménard was still on the job and staff turnover had increased to 70%.
This story had generated a lot of reactions, disappointment and concern in the administrative regions of HQ and minor hockey associations in the province.
However, during Hockey Québec's annual meeting held in virtual mode on June 19, Quebec hockey stakeholders remained in the dark.
Management and the Board have demanded that questions from members be submitted in advance and in writing. The questions concerning the crisis shaking the head office of the federation have thus been evaded.
We then simply announced that Paul Ménard was going to retire in August, but that he was going to stay beyond that date to complete several files, while acting as interim until until his successor is named.
This decision aims to promote a smooth transition for both the members and the federation
, underlined, cynically, a press release published by HQ on June 22.
This press release was the only explanation we could obtain at the time since the chairman of the board, Yve Sigouin, also refused our requests for an interview.
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In the months following the publication of our investigation, the management and the board of directors of HQ also engaged in a process of mediation with the union of employees.
The mediator assigned to the file was none other than the chief mediator of the Ministry of Labour, Gilles Lachance. Towards the end of the spring, the latter submitted a report, the content of which was not disclosed to the members of the federation.
The report raised management and communication problems, a lack of recognition of employees' work, poor use of employees' skills, a lack of clarity in the roles and responsibilities assigned to each person and the need to modernize governance of the federation.
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This modernization of Hockey Quebec's mode of governance was timidly undertaken this summer with the appointment to the board of directors of two people from outside the federation's executives.
Until this year, the seats on the board of directors were distributed to former regional presidents whom we wanted to reward for their long years of involvement. Zero diversity. It was therefore not an environment conducive to questioning and the mixing of new ideas.
The two new co-opted members are Victor Henriquez, a specialist in crisis management (!) and strategic communication, as well as Geneviève Paquette, who holds the position of vice-president responsible for community engagement with the Montreal Canadiens and General Manager of the Children's Foundation.
Just to give an idea of the state of play, the presence of a woman on the board of HQ is almost science fiction.
Last November, Yve Sigouin explained the total absence of women on the board by the fact that these positions are voluntary and that women active in the hockey community and qualified to sit on the board prefer to occupy paid positions. !
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In short, the next General Manager of Hockey Québec will have a lot on his plate to straighten out this huge ship and help establish a new culture of innovation and excellence.
However, I sincerely believe that he will join a group of dedicated employees who are determined to enhance the quality of minor hockey in Quebec.
The good news, according to several credible sources, is that many of the candidates selected for interviews are of very high caliber.
We find on the final list extremely respected candidates who come from different backgrounds (NHL, junior hockey, national sports federation, Olympic movement and even from the Quebec government apparatus) and who have compiled management and sports planning at the highest levels.
In 2016, during the process that led to the hiring of the previous CEO, HQ's board of directors had not seen fit, even though it was a key position, to proceed to a real call for candidates. We had simply chosen someone from within.
The board was then looking to get involved in the day-to-day operations of the federation, which was nonsense, and they did not want a stand-alone CEO. It only remains to hope that we have learned lessons from this catastrophic episode.
What I find interesting about the group of finalists is that most of them absolutely do not need this job at Hockey Quebec. They have jobs or situations that satisfy them. They have lived experience, a lot of expertise and they raised their hands to help
, underlines a source familiar with the matter.
It will therefore be inexcusable if HQ does not end up with an autonomous and high-calibre CEO when this hiring is announced.
