Interested in more careers-related content? Check out our new weekly Work Life newsletter. Sent every Monday afternoon.
Newcomer talent is widely underused in Canada, but employers who tap into it see clear benefits to their business, a new report finds.
The paper by The Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) and Deloitte outlines how companies working with newcomers can draw on the diverse experiences of those workers to improve performance while helping to close the immigrant unemployment gap. The findings are based on conversations with more than 40 leaders across a range of sectors from mining to technology who shared their strategies for hiring and retaining immigrants.
Daniel Bernhard, chief executive officer of ICC, says the insights shared show that working with newcomers leads employers to innovate by incorporating new perspectives and processes in their work. “The data shows that if you can bring people from around the world to play on your team, you’re going to have an edge over other teams where people have the same experiences and are more likely to see things the same way,” he says.
Immigrants face higher unemployment rates in Canada – in large part because of the challenges of having the experience from their country of origin recognized. Statistics Canada data shows the unemployment rate for recent immigrants – those who have become permanent residents in the past five years – stood at 12.6 per cent in June. In contrast, the rate for Canadian-born workers in the same period was 5.5 per cent.
Even though the federal government just announced it will lower the number of permanent residents admitted on an annual basis, Canada has welcomed about 1.8 million immigrants in the past five years, according to Statistics Canada, and there will be about 400,000 new permanent residents a year for at least the next few years.
The ICC-Deloitte report suggests that employers can tap into newcomer talent more effectively if they adopt a “culture of ambition.” Leaders surveyed recognized the benefits of having a diverse work force, but they noted that their teams often struggle to invest in creating new recruitment and onboarding policies to support immigrants.
The lack of clear-cut processes for integrating newcomers puts the onus on organizations to create their own, Mr. Bernhard says. “Identifying and integrating this talent is not straightforward,” he says. “While the benefits are clear, there’s an investment required. But many companies are simply not prepared to make those investments, and as a result, they’re losing out.”
According to the report, the lack of will to innovate not only limits employers’ ability to hire immigrant employees but hinders these potential employees from meaningfully applying their global experience in the Canadian context. One respondent noted seeing newcomers as “global navigators” with distinct cultural insights and language skills that can help position these immigrant employees as key players in building new partnerships and clientele worldwide.
Another respondent noted how attitudes of current employees toward immigrants can also hamper their integration in the workplace. They cited, for example, the tendency among some immigrants to work longer than Canadian-born workers, which can threaten the desire to encourage work-life balance.
Some employers, according to the report, also struggle to recognize the value of foreign experience, with many preferring to hire alumni from universities or organizations that they know. When employers are unable to recognize the credentials of foreign employers or schools, they struggle to assess if the candidate’s experience fits their needs.
Despite these barriers, respondents say organizations can take steps toward integrating immigrants, starting with de-emphasizing Canadian experience in their search for candidates.
“One thing employers should do is rediscover their humility and remind themselves why when someone with an unfamiliar name from an unfamiliar country and different experience comes across your desk, there’s a possibility that person knows something you don’t know,” says Mr. Bernhard.
The report also highlights the importance of creating a diversity, equity and inclusion strategy to recruit and retain newcomer talent. One HR leader from a financial services company suggests that considerations such as country of origin and year of arrival should figure in hiring frameworks to ensure they are inclusive.
Respondents further noted the value of sharing success stories with colleagues across their organizations about working with immigrants. For example, a natural resource firm in Western Canada shared how changing their policy from only hiring workers who had experience driving in the snow led them to see that those who had no such experience were often more careful and had fewer accidents. This allowed them to boost their safety record while relying on newcomers to address labour shortages in their industry.
Beyond cultivating an inclusive work culture, the report recommends adopting a more holistic approach to employee well-being that involves the employer recognizing the factors outside of work that can affect performance. This could include, for example, the spouse’s ability to find work. According to respondents, organizations can help in these areas by connecting with civil society organizations offering support services to newcomers.
While the immigrant unemployment gap persists, the ICC-Deloitte report finds that Canada has an opportunity to use immigrant talent to gain a competitive edge. But without a dedicated approach, employers risk losing out on the potential that global talent brings, while falling behind on growth and innovation.
“Immigrants who are selected for their specific skills and experiences and come from countries that do some things better than we do can teach firms to evolve and innovate,” Mr. Bernhard says. “Sidelining those people is a recipe for stagnation.”
