Recruiting in a Multicultural Environment – December 2008
Canada has always been a nation of cultures. Its roots are
embedded with an intertwined mosaic of ethnicity that has
defined and cultivated who we are today. However, as a nation
we are dramatically different today than we were fifty, or even
twenty years ago. The labour composition has changed and as
a result, the way corporations view their labour mix must also
change in order for us to move forward.
Extensive articles have been written on the various segments
of the work force, such as Baby Boomers, Generation X, and
the newest segment, Millennials. All the statistics published,
regardless of source, have indicated that in the wake of the shifting population Canada has a shortage of experienced individuals in all categories of employment, from doctors and engineers to seasoned business managers. We read daily in the newspapers and hear in various news reports information concerning the baby boomers and how they are retiring and leaving a void in management ranks. The big question is what are corporations of all sizes doing to fill this void?
It has been indicated that for the first time the major metropolitan areas in this country have more new Canadians than individuals who were born here. Many of these individuals come to Canada with a post secondary education and extensive work experience (although not Canadian) and aren’t being incorporated into the occupations they came from prior to immigrating to Canada. In Toronto it is not hard to find individuals with doctorate degrees driving taxi cabs or working on production lines. As a nation, are we losing this talent?
There are many issues that face companies today regarding new Canadian employees, including:
• language issues – reading , writing, and verbal communications;
• recognition of foreign credentials – technical and non-technical;
• cultural issues – everything from initial introductions to interactions in group settings;
• religious issues – both beliefs and customs;
• work habits and beliefs – hours of work and the acceptable hierarchy of office behavior;
• and assimilation issues – both real and perceived.
The factors listed above are far from exhaustive; actually, they only scrape the surface of these complex issues. However, if Canadian companies are going to grow they will have to develop policies and practices to deal with these challenges so that they can acquire and manage the top talent, regardless of cultural background.
The success of these organizations and their profitability will increasingly depend on managers at all levels becoming proficient in cross-cultural skill, including the ability to assess culturally different employees accurately and design/implement programs relevant to different cultures. The understanding of all these issues is called “Multicultural Competence” and unfortunately, virtually all of us lack a sufficient amount of it.
It is beyond the scope of one article to address all of the issues and challenges related to recruiting multicultural candidates and managing multicultural work environments. However, over the coming months Derhak Ireland & Partners will attempt to address these issues one at a time in our monthly newsletter.
What is your company doing to make the most of multicultural talent? Send your suggestions, examples and thoughts to William Derhak at wderhak@derhak.com and we will incorporate them into our follow up articles on multicultural work environments.
William Derhak, President Derhak Ireland