Good Practices from Best Employers for New Canadians 2010

Recruiting

• Develop a program to provide work placements for ITPs, including in mid- and senior-level positions, in partnership with immigrant-serving agencies, school board programs, and relevant pre-employment and industry-specific job readiness training programs of local universities and colleges.
• Host onsite hiring fairs/information sessions for ITPs, during which a panel fields questions on the organization's hiring practices and processes, and current ITP employees share their experiences and advice on applying for jobs at the organization.
• Source ITP employees through referrals from immigrant-serving and community agencies and professional associations, online diversity recruitment portals, and ethnic community publications.
• Have senior management serve on the council or steering committee of immigrant-serving agencies, to help develop and guide their programs; offer to partner with agencies to educate other local employers about hiring ITPs.
• Offer your expertise for training programs of immigrant-serving agencies that help ITPs find employment - e.g. mentor ITPs on workplace culture and norms, and how to establish networking relationships.
• Invite employee volunteers to assess the credentials and applications of ITPs seeking membership of your industry professional association.
• Maintain a "Newcomers to Canada" web portal on your careers website with advice for ITP jobseekers.

Selecting

• Train recruiters and hiring managers to value international work experience, and to address and recognize cross-cultural issues during the recruitment process.
• To reduce bias in the hiring process, ensure that job applications from ITPs are reviewed by an employee who is also an ITP or a member of the organization's diversity committee.
• Provide mock interview training to ITP jobseekers in partnership with immigrant-serving agencies.
• Hire ITPs that are pursuing a required designation in a lower position on a temporary basis, promoting them once they successfully obtain the necessary accreditation.

Integrating

• Sponsor or participate in a "speed mentoring" program where ITP employees meet one-on-one with employee mentors from the organization's diversity and resourcing group, employee affinity networks, and employment equity and diversity advisory committees.
• Support the success of ITP interns with individual coaching, and take special efforts to find job opportunities for them once their internship is completed.
• Design special training programs for ITP employees, such as a formal onboarding program, or lunch and learn workshops on topics such as Canadian culture, career development and networking, and business communication.
• Offer an in-house mentorship program specifically for ITP employees that will pair internationally-trained hires with mentors in leadership positions.
• Help ITP employees adjust to the Canadian workplace, as well as living and working in Canada, through a co-worker "buddy" program, and arrange regular meetings with a performance coach to help ensure their success.
• Help ITP employees familiarize themselves with the specifics of Canadian industry by subsidizing the cost of courses at local colleges and universities.
• Conduct research to identify workplace barriers for ITPs, improve the capacity of managers and mentors to support ITP employees, and begin developing new training options for ITPs.
• Develop a balanced scorecard and tracking mechanism to measure the organization's success in hiring and supporting ITP employees.

Retaining

• Recognize years of international work experience, crediting one year of service for each year of related overseas experience; consider years of international work experience when determining a starting salary.
• Support ITP employees in enhancing their English language skills, during company time, through training programs in writing, pronunciation, interpersonal communication, as well as ESL for occupational purposes.
• Support ITP employees with international credentials in obtaining Canadian registrations, licences and credit training.
• Offer an ESL training incentive program, awarding a bonus to employees who complete ESL training (in addition to covering the cost of English courses through a tuition reimbursement program).
• Offer extended coaching or mentoring support for ITP employees when required, customizing training programs to meet the needs of individual employees.
• Encourage ITP employees to develop their careers by reimbursing the cost of professional association membership fees.
• Provide training for managers on how to create inclusive workplaces.

Adapted from http://www.canadastop100.com/immigrants/

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