descriptions, but the communications skills required for a training
facilitator would be quite different to those needed by a computer
programmer. Think about what skills are truly needed for
each position.
If your talent pool is diverse but the people being hired are
fairly homogeneous, it’s time to take a closer look at your interview
process. Do your interview questions effectively draw out the
information that you need to know about the candidate’s skills
and experience? For example, there are unwritten rules and expectations
for questions like, “Tell me about yourself,” that someone
who has immigrated to Canada may not know. An immigrant professional
may have the skills and expertise you’re looking for, but
you could miss it. Asking, “Could you please tell us about your
work experience and how it relates to this position?” has the same
intention as, “Tell me about yourself,” but would be understood by
more people.
Retention is tied closely to inclusion and begins with onboarding.
If organizations have formal onboarding, it usually highlights
procedural information. New employees come away knowing more
about how to book meeting rooms and their medical benefits, but
very little about the unwritten rules of that organization. What are
the unsaid expectations around who should be included in project
updates? What are the best opportunities for informal networking
(do many people use the lunch room)? Is cross-team collaboration
diversity
something that happens a great deal or are teams expected to work
more independently? Including topics like these in the onboarding
process helps anyone who is new understand the expectations of
the workplace, not only immigrant professionals.
Many suggestions on how to make a workplace more inclusive
for immigrant professionals make it more inclusive for everyone.
In looking at how team meetings are run, for example, a best practice
is to send an agenda out ahead of time to better manage time
at the meeting so that everyone has a chance to speak and offer
input. This is also helpful for being inclusive of different learning
styles and personal preferences about reflecting and contributing.
The key to making effective change when it comes to diversity
and inclusion in the workplace is to identify a couple of areas to
work on. Choose something doable and meaningful, and then
implement the change well: consult with leaders and staff at different
levels, communicate about why the changes are happening
and outline measurable outcomes. By starting with a few workable
actions and doing them well, you’ll create meaningful change and
generate buy-in from all staff, including senior leaders, which will
create a culture of support for future initiatives and continue the
process of making your workplace both diverse and inclusive. n
Rachel Crowe is the manager, learning and workplace inclusion at the
Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council.
Foreign Recruitment Certificate
AL PARSAI
MA, DTM, RCIC
LEAD INSTRUCTOR
Participants of this program will master:
- Federal guidelines over foreign recruitment
- The Ontario Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act
- The Saskatchewan Foreign Worker Recruitment and Immigration Services Act
- Ethical Responsibilities of Recruiters
- LMIA – Labour Market Impact Assessment
- Work without an LMIA under the IMP programs
- NOC – National Occupational Classification
- Work without a Permit
6 Hours
Online Program
Certificate +6 CPD Hours
$99 USD ONLY
TAX INCLUDED
www.gsce.ca
(647) 325-6678 308-100 Richmond St W, Toronto, ON M5H3K6 info@gsce.ca
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