Opportunity

Companies are finally wising up to the idea that their most valuable assets are their people.

Six years ago, Canada Post, Canada`s national postal service and seventh largest employer, with 70 000 employees, was under fire. Increasing competition from private carrier companies, such as United Parcel Service and FedEx, was eating into profits, and the company`s proprietary systems were too slow to handle the rapid change in the industry. "We started to see our growth rates dry up," says Jamie Esler, a general manager in the human resources department at Canada Post.