Building Equitable Employment
What employers in Whistler said…
The majority of their workforces (some estimating 80-90%) were immigrant workers.
Key benefits and positive outcomes from a diverse workforce
- long-term career outcomes for immigrant workers
- improved business and workplace practices
- immigrant workers tended to be hardworking, dedicated and reliable and bring lots of energy and passion
- diverse skills, experience and perspectives leading to innovation and better practices and processes
Key challenges
- Intercultural communication (e.g. how a conversation is interpreted)
- Cultural differences in expectations, work ethic, understanding of rules and regulations, sense of humor (and what’s appropriate), and general adaptation to how things ‘work’ in Canada.
- Language barriers (this was mentioned by four employers however the majority noted this was not a serious challenge and easily managed)
- Immigration processes – complex questions as well as heightened stress/uncertainty
- Housing and affordability / long-term viability of living in Whistler
Long term vs. short term employment
- Six out of ten employers recruited immigrant workers with the intention of long-term employment.
language ability often impacted the position offered, with people with lower levels of English offered non-customer facing roles
What working effectively with immigrants from different cultures looks like
- Open dialogue without judgement (and more of it!) and active listening
- Clear expectations, rules and regulations
- Thorough orientation training
- Embracing other cultures / diversity viewed as an asset
- Cultural competency and checking assumptions
- Being open to different ideas and ways of doing things
- Inclusive hiring and recruitment strategies – reviewing job descriptions and requirements, focusing on soft skills rather than technical qualifications or experience, interview techniques, addressing unconscious bias
- Empathy – putting yourself in their shoes/understanding about adjusting to life in a new country
