Attracting and Retaining
Newcomers and Immigrant Employees
September 30, 2011
Don Rutherford
don@culture-connect.com
www.culture-connect.com
Culture Connect
Workshop outline
• Culture concepts
• Pros / cons of hiring culturally diverse
• Résumé screening
• The interview
• Integration
Culture Connect
Gary Larson
Inadvertently,
Roy dooms the entire earth to annihilation when,
in an attempt to be friendly,
he seizes their leader by the head and shakes vigorously.
Culture
• Our learned way of living.
• What and how we think, feel and act.
• “Common sense is the collection of prejudices
acquired by age 18.” Albert Einstein
Distribution of Cultural Norms
Culture A
Culture B
Culture Connect
Iceberg Analogy Of Culture
Explicit (10%)
Resume, dress code,
office layout…
Implicit (90%)
Values & beliefs
Resume expectations
Interview expectations
Gender relations
Conflict management
Manager/employee rels.
Teamwork....
Your Culture - Considerations
Personal – nation, ethnicity, gender, age,
personality, education,
religion…
Corporate – hierarchy, decision-making,
inclusiveness,
communication…
Culture Connect
Canada
Foreign – Born
2006
2031
Visible Minority
2006
2031
Canada
20%
26%
16%
31%
Calgary
24
30
22
38
Edmonton
19
22
17
29
Montreal
21
30
16
31
Toronto
46
50
43
63
Vancouver
40
44
42
59
Culture Connect
Sources of Immigration
To Canada (2009)
1. China
2. Philippines
3. India
4. United States
5. United Kingdom
6. France
7. Pakistan
Culture Connect
Team Effectiveness
Highly
Ineffective
Multi-cultures
Nancy Adler, International Dimensions
Average
Effectiveness
Single-culture
Culture Connect
Highly
Effective
Multi-cultures
Diversity in Workgroups – Pro/Con
Advantages
• Increased creativity –
perspectives & ideas
• Better problem
definition, more
alternatives, better
solutions & decisions
Culture Connect
Disadvantages
• Lack of cohesion –
mistrust,
miscommunication,
stress
• Takes more time
• Consensus difficult
• Less efficient
Attract Diverse Applicants
• Reward / recognize employees for
recommending potential new employees
• Treat people well; not necessarily the same
• Demonstrate that you have happy, diverse
employees who are being promoted
• Make web site & all publications inviting –
showing & mentioning diversity
• Advertise positions in less mainstream
publications / web sites
Culture Connect
Resume
Differences
Action Steps
“Jack of all trades”
• Dig for expertise in interview
• Focus on transferable skills and
experience
Ph.D. fits all positions
• As above
Lack of accomplishment
• Explain what you as interviewer
are looking for
• Dig for accomplishments
• Check out the university
Resume sent to wrong
person
• Redirect
Culture Connect
Resume
Differences
Action Steps
Over-emphasis of the less • Don’t reject on this basis alone
important
Inappropriate information
• Explain what you as interviewer
are looking for
Peculiar cover letters
• Get another opinion
Assessing qualifications
• Evaluate academic credentials
by specialized organizations
such as World Education
Services, IQAS
Culture Connect
Recruitment Action Steps
• Include people who are not part of the mainstream
on the recruitment and selection team
• Create clear and specific position descriptions with
“must have” and “nice to have” skills
• Don’t reject resumes because they only describe
responsibilities
• Consider overlooking frequent changes of
positions after and before immigration
Culture Connect
Recruitment Action Steps
• Focus on progression of culturally different
candidates.
• Explain in detail the recruiting process used in
your organization. You may post on your website
a description of the steps and sample resumes.
• Define upfront the English-language skill level
required for the position.
Culture Connect
Recruitment Action Steps
• Use short-term contracts (whenever
possible) to reduce the risk of hiring the
wrong person.
• Use the graduates of special programs
designed to help immigrants find positions.
Culture Connect
Interview – Opening
• “Be present” with situation
• Suspend judgement for a brief time
• Be prepared for surprises; be flexible
• Be aware of your assumptions and reactions
• Explicitly state your expectations as appropriate
• Get the support of colleagues when confused
Culture Connect
Cross-cultural communication
Non-verbal communication
• Space
• Body language
• Gestures
• Dress code
• Tone of voice
• Sense of humour
• Scents – perfume, cologne
Culture Connect
Cross-cultural communication
Verbal communication
• English as a second language
• Accents
• Silence
• Acronyms / abbreviations
• Different versions of English
• Sports English
• Connotations
Culture Connect
Interview Differences
• Greetings
• Chit-chat
• Gestures and body language
• Showing too much or too little emotion
• Excessive deference (hierarchy)
Culture Connect
Interview – Middle
• Interpersonal/team skills
– Work on a project: formal authority, your role,
deadlines, conflicts
• Individual / Collective
• Time – linear vs. fluid
• Conflict – saving face
Culture Connect
Interview – Middle
• Business/Customer orientation
– Developing and maintaining relationships with
users/business partners /clients / or users &
handling challenges
• Hierarchy
• “Customer is king”
Culture Connect
Interview – Middle
• Ability to Learn/Adaptability
– situations in which you have had to adjust quickly;
what boss have you worked the most effectively for?
• Manager/employee relations – hierarchy
• Delegation / empowerment
Culture Connect
Interview – Middle
• Planning & Organization
– manage your time and prioritize your work
• Manager/employee relations – hierarchy
• Your Strongest Technical Skill
• Individual / group contribution
Culture Connect
Interview – Middle
• Initiative/Problem Solving
• Initiative
• Risk tolerance
• Communication Skills
• Direct vs. indirect
• Hierarchy
Culture Connect
Interview – End
• Explain company context and position
• We have a diverse workforce – women &
culturally diverse in leadership roles, LGBT,
physically disabled, religious beliefs…
• Do you have any special requirements during
work day / work year?
• Answer their questions & next steps
Culture Connect
References
• Check them out for validity – education & work
experience
• Check them out for the important questions –
gender relations, interpersonal/team skills,
adaptability…
• Call other countries as necessary
Culture Connect
Hierarchy
I prefer working for managers who
give me enough freedom
so that I can determine the
best direction for myself
give me clear directions
so that I know what
they want me to do
Culture Connect
Hierarchy
I prefer working for managers who
give me enough freedom
so that I can determine the
best direction for myself
France
give me clear directions
so that I know what
they want me to do
UK
Canada
Culture Connect
India
Low Hierarchy
High Hierarchy
• Minimize levels of power
• Value power level differences
• Manager earns right to power
through performance
• Employees accept that a manager
has right to more power
• First priority is getting business
objective accomplished
• First priority is often pleasing the
boss. Chain of command respected.
• Employees not afraid to
disagree with boss
• Employees generally afraid to
disagree with boss
• Titles and position smaller role
• Titles and position command respect
• Senior people are not
necessarily older and male
• Senior people are typically older and
male
Culture Connect
Once Hired
• Common issues – lack of initiative, slow to pick up
new stuff, not fitting in, odd behaviours…
• Culture shock & adjustment
• Preparing the receiving workgroup
• New employee orientation
• Coaching
Culture Connect
Technical vs. Soft Skills
Technical
Skills
High
Medium
Low
Low
Medium
High
Soft Skills
Culture Connect
Culture Shock & Adjustment
Culture Connect
Motivating Leader Change
• Alberta companies are focussed on growth
• Cannot grow or even maintain position without new
employees
• Are not / will not be enough Canadian-born
candidates
• Learn to utilize recent immigrants or die
Culture Connect
Motivating Leader Change
• Work with senior company leaders to acknowledge
issue, develop game plan & restate it regularly to org
• Ensure leaders are constantly reminded of changing
times and encouraged to develop their own plans for
meeting the worker shortages
• Provide tools / training to assist leaders to make the
transition to a new hiring process / model
• Build on recent successes of bold new initiatives
Culture Connect
Final Comments
• Withhold judgement; seek multiple explanations
• Know own biases & work to overcome
• Individualism / hierarchy / look for the patterns
• Is this a “diamond in the rough”?
• Who is the best candidate?
Culture Connect
Final Comments
• No magic bullet – becoming a more competence
recruiter of culturally diverse candidates involves
numerous small steps
• The ideas and practices discussed here may seem
simplistic, but the vast majority of cross-cultural
problems encountered have their roots in basic
communication, judgement and relationship issues.
Culture Connect
“In learning about cultures,
we generalize.
In real life,
we treat people as individuals.”
Culture Connect
How might you apply what we
have talked about this morning to
your situation?
Culture Connect
Attracting and Retaining
Newcomers and Immigrant Employees
September 30, 2011
Don Rutherford
don@culture-connect.com
www.culture-connect.com
Culture Connect