Supporting Success at Work:
Job Retention and Career Development
Focus Group Report
Toronto, 2013
Prepared by Andrew Reddin, Manager, Partnership Development, SCP: December 2013
Contents
Executive Summary
3
Introduction
4
Background: Social Capital Partners
5
Structure
5
Participants
5
Key Findings
6
Conclusion
17
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Executive Summary
In recent years, Canadian employers have cited progressively higher turnover as an onerous, expensive
and counterproductive phenomenon afflicting their companies and industries. This turnover results
from a wide range of challenges including employee disengagement, skills mismatches between jobs
and candidates, unclear expectations on the part of both employers and workers, and myriad other
factors. Moreover, the current state of employment has become increasingly precarious, with more
workers compelled to accept temporary, casual, contract or other even less stable forms of work. Job
retention has therefore emerged as a significant national socioeconomic concern.
Given the challenges faced by job seekers in this ever-changing environment, how do we support them
to retain and succeed in their employment once they actually do find work? How do we work with both
employers and new hires to encourage effective communication and optimal performance? And what
about the feasibility of supporting long-term career development within a climate of constant flux?
We posed these and other provocative questions to a group of experienced and innovative employment
service and career development professionals from the Toronto area.
Our discussion identified several key strategies to support success at work, including but not limited to:
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Providing meaningful on-the-job mentorship
Consultative needs assessments: identifying pain points and collaborating to find solutions
Setting clear expectations regarding communication, behaviour and performance
Training and professional development for employers, not only employees
Expanding and empowering peer networks
Strengths-based approaches to supporting individual growth and development
Realistic and achievable goal-setting and performance plans
Training that actually addresses employers’ needs and employees’ skill gaps
This report drills down on these and other solutions for cultivating positive and productive workplaces,
illustrated with direct examples from our participants’ experience in the field. We also address the
contentious phrase ‘career laddering,’ examining how contemporary career progression often takes a
lateral, non-linear and more developmental path, and sharing tools and techniques to support this
process.
Social Capital Partners is grateful to our participants for sharing their first-hand experiences and
insights about the nuts and bolts of what helps people to succeed at work. We look forward to
integrating these best practices into our current and future workforce development projects.
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Introduction
As the Canadian Labour and Business Centre (CLBC) contends in its report entitled Employee Retention,
Labour Turnover and Knowledge Transfer (2004), “[w]hen a business loses employees, it loses skills,
experience and ‘corporate memory’…. The cost of replacing workers can be high, the problems
associated with finding and training new employees can be considerable, and the specific workplaceacquired skills and knowledge people walk away with can take years to replace.”
In recent years, failure to retain employees has become a significant concern for Canadian employers.
According to a 2006 survey of 446 Canadian companies conducted by Western Compensation &
Benefits Consultants, 66% of employers cited difficulty with retaining employees and roughly half
reported higher turnover than in previous years.
This phenomenon of increased turnover also speaks to employee demotivation and disengagement. In
Leigh Branham’s widely cited 2005 publication, The 7 Hidden Reasons Why Employees Leave, among the
top reasons were unclear communication between employers and their staff regarding job duties,
performance expectations and workplace culture, along with a lack of coaching, feedback and
recognition provided to employees.
Concurrently, the labour market itself has become increasingly turbulent and the nature of
employment less stable. In 2013, Susan McIsaac and Charlotte Yates released research on behalf of
United Way Toronto and the University of McMaster that revealed how 50% of Toronto-area workers
had fallen into “precarious employment,” defined as temporary, contract, seasonal or on-call,
frequently without benefits and often without the possibility of extension or renewal. As McIsaac and
Yates argue, this situation leaves a large segment of the workforce vulnerable, insecure and relegated
to constant job search mode in order to secure their next paycheque.
Clearly, this is a challenging environment in which to search for work, and once job seekers actually do
secure employment, they often require support to maintain and succeed in their new jobs. Social
Capital Partners convened a focus group of innovative career practitioners from the Toronto area to
share best practices, tools and strategies for assisting employers with strengthening their human
capital management practices and retention outcomes while supporting job seekers to succeed at work
once hired and to thrive in their careers. Our participants engaged in a lively discussion rich with applied
learning from years of experience serving a diverse range of employers and job seekers.
Background: Social Capital Partners
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Social Capital Partners (SCP) is a privately financed non-profit organization with the mandate to find
better ways to provide meaningful job opportunities to people who have faced barriers to employment
including new Canadians, single parents, youth, aboriginals and people with disabilities.
Our methodology to determine these “better ways” has always been grounded in action-based
research. We have facilitated, in partnership with a multitude of employers, community agencies,
training providers and other sector stakeholders, the placement of more than 1,000 job seekers.
Social Capital Partners is currently negotiating with federal and provincial stakeholders to pilot a
demand-led model for delivering employment and training services. Rather than focusing on selfmarketing for job seekers through resume and interview preparation for positions that may or may not
be available, we will scale an employer-designed model that upskills job seekers to secure sustainable
employment in occupations with strong labour market prospects.
We seek to enrich the design and delivery of our demand-led model with current best practices that our
community partners and sector stakeholders utilize to support and strengthen job retention.
Structure
We convened this focus group on the morning of Friday, October 18, 2013 and began the session by
posing seven questions for our participants’ consideration and reflection. We then divided the
participants into three smaller groups and asked each group to brainstorm responses to these questions
for 30 minutes, after which we returned to the larger group and took up each question for a collective
discussion which lasted approximately 45 minutes.
We then facilitated a brief wrap-up review of overarching themes and key findings, and circulated
participant evaluations to obtain feedback on the content, structure and usefulness of the session.
Participants
We would like to thank our participants whose insightful contributions have enriched our project design
and added valuable resources to our workforce development toolkit. Participants included:
Luba Berezina, Partnerships and Program Manager, Toronto Workforce Innovation Group
Maya Roy, Executive Director, Newcomer Women’s Services
Mona Fray, Partnerships and Job Developer, Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office
Ricarda Ventura, Job Developer, St. Stephen’s Employment & Training Centre
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Rosita Esgard, Coordinator, YES
Paula Calderon, BDO, Strategic Alliances, Career Edge
Sadia Zafar, Coordinator, Employment and LINC Program, Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office
Sarah Belisle, Employment Counsellor, Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment and Training
Participants from the Social Capital Partners Team
Alex Muro, Community Hiring Specialist
Andrew Reddin (Focus Group Facilitator), Manager, Partnership Development
Judy Doidge, Senior Manager, Partnership Development
Magnus Sandberg, Vice President and General Manager
Key Findings
1. How can we help job seekers cope with the fears and anxieties that arise when starting a new
job?
A. Supportive Onboarding: On-the-Job Mentorship, Peer Networks and Workplace Coaching
Participants agreed on the importance of putting multiple supports in place when onboarding new
hires. Examples of such supports include on-the-job mentorship, coaching on workplace norms and
expectations, and participation in peer networks. By providing new hires with clear expectations, along
with relevant on-the-job training and stronger self-confidence nurtured by peer mentorship and
support, we can help reduce anxiety in the workplace and equip new employees with tools for success.
The organization and delivery of specific onboarding supports often depends on which parties are best
positioned to offer them. For example, with on-the-job mentorship, an employer may already have a
“buddy system” in place whereby a more experienced, top-performing employee has been nominated
to provide individual guidance to new hires. Or in the case of peer networking, this might be facilitated
by a community agency that coordinates sessions where new hires can meet after work to share their
experiences and offer each other support.
Some participants also made the point that supportive onboarding must include setting and
communicating clear expectations for work performance and behaviour. New employees often feel
most anxious when they do not know what is expected to them. This can range from a lack of clarify
regarding their actual job duties to uncertainty about how to speak to a supervisor about a problem or
whether it is “safe” to admit a mistake.
It is incumbent upon the employers to provide their staff with clear and concrete job descriptions along
with comprehensive guidance on workplace behaviour by developing, enforcing and providing new
employees with training on HR policies such as codes of conduct, anti-discrimination and anti-
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harassment policies, and other vital regulations that govern the workplace. It is also the responsibility
of employees to ask questions when they are uncertain or require more information on issues like
these.
Here again, service providers can play a vital role by working with employers and employees to address
knowledge gaps and resolve miscommunications that have potentially escalated on-the-job anxiety
and encouraged counterproductive behaviour.
For example, for employees who struggle with asking for help, service providers can offer assertiveness
training to show these employees how to raise questions and concerns in a confident, respectful and
professional manner. Also, in the case of some companies run by a newly self-employed owner, or by a
management team that is under-resourced, service providers may be able to provide guidance to these
employers about how to design an effective onboarding program for new staff, along with identifying
potential gaps in their human resources policies.
B. Strengths-Based Assessment (SBA) and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
One effective way to address fear and anxiety when working with individuals at both the preemployment and post-employment stages is to conduct strengths-based assessments (SBA). This type
of assessment can be conducted with both individuals and groups, and can contribute to greater selfawareness of one’s own abilities and assets, leading to higher levels of self-confidence and a stronger
internal locus of control.
SBA is intended to serve as an antidote to what some refer to as a “deficit mentality.” This deficit
mentality tends to inform several more traditional types of psychological and human services
assessments which focus primarily on the person’s perceived challenges or “weaknesses” rather than
identifying and reinforcing their strengths. Designers, practitioners and scholars of SBA tools and
techniques cite the ability of SBA to empower individuals by demonstrating to them that they already
have some of the relevant skills, experience and coping strategies required to achieve their goals, which
gives them more confidence in their capacity to address any remaining gaps or obstacles.
This empowerment-based approach is similarly embedded in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT),
which focuses on helping people recognize and draw upon their current and previous successes,
cultivating greater hope, confidence and resilience, rather than potentially exacerbating feelings of
anxiety, fear or powerlessness by fixating primarily or solely on “problems.”
While initially developed as a therapeutic approach, over the past three decades, SFBT has extended far
beyond the parameters of traditional psychology. Elements of SFBT have been integrated into
corporate training programs, life coaching, a whole spectrum of human services interventions and
other on-the-ground applications for working with and helping people.
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One of our focus group participants is a particularly strong advocate of SFBT and has experienced its
benefits first-hand when working in a diverse range of human services capacities both locally and
internationally. A few of our other participants also confirmed that they utilize aspects of SFBT and SBA
in their work, particularly with job seekers who express that they are overwhelmed by simply
contemplating the idea of finding and maintaining employment. Many of these individuals are often so
preoccupied with replaying their negative experiences and self-critical messages in their minds that
they live in a near-constant state of discouragement, leading to a lack of faith in their ability to make
positive changes in their lives and careers. Our participants shared that helping people to become
aware of their own positive qualities and capacity to improve their situation can help replace fear-based
self-talk with pro-active decision-making that leads to positive behaviour change.
2. How can we support individuals with readjusting to the workforce after an extended absence?
A. Pre-Employment
Holistic Supports and Needs Assessments
Several participants shared that a large proportion of the individuals whom they serve have been out of
work for six to twelve months or longer. Indeed, many recipients of social assistance have been out of
work, or have worked sporadically, over the course of several years. A range of pre-employment
interventions is frequently required to prepare these individuals to return to work.
Perhaps the first and one of the most important steps is often to assess whether the individual has the
the supports in place to secure and maintain employment. Given the hardships faced by most people
who have been out of work for a long time, our participants agreed that a holistic range of supports is
typically needed to prepare these people for employment. This often includes assistance with accessing
affordable housing, child care, transportation and other fundamental supports that people need in
order to make it to work every day. Additional supports are also needed when individuals apply for
specific types of jobs. For example, job seekers may need financial assistance to purchase safety boots
for jobs in construction and manufacturing, or to obtain a driver’s abstract to be considered for work as
a truck driver.
To determine the types and combinations of supports that individuals require, participants explained
that they conduct different styles of needs assessments with the job seekers whom they serve, using
techniques such as in-person interviews, paper-based assessments and online tools. For example, in
their first appointments with job seekers, some participants use combinations of techniques like
strengths-based assessments (SBA), which identify the job seeker’s existing strengths and assets, with
the Common Assessment (CA) framework, which helps to identify needs that participants have
regarding specific dimensions of employability, such as skills enhancement or career decision-making.
Some participants also shared that they supplement these in-person interview-based assessments with
other computerized or written tools such as the Barriers to Employment Success Inventory (BESI) that
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can help identify the types of assistance individuals require to make the very act of returning to work a
viable option.
Skills Enhancement and Upgrading
Job seekers who have been out of work for an extended period of time can also benefit from support
with skills enhancement and upgrading in order to market themselves more effectively to employers
and succeed at work once hired. For example, an administrative professional who has not worked in
eight years would likely require computer skills upgrading in order to compete with other job applicants
and perform well at an office that utilizes the latest software programs.
Our participants shared that they often refer job seekers to a wide range of pre-employment training
interventions including bridging programs, literacy classes, co-op placements, subsidized skills training
courses and other diverse services.
Life Skills Coaching and Training
Our participants also cited the benefits of life skills training for job seekers who face multiple barriers to
employment, particularly those who have not worked in a long time and who may have previously
struggled to maintain employment. Life skills training, provided in group environments or in one-toone coaching sessions, can help address a wide range of employability issues including hygiene, time
management, decision-making, punctuality, conflict resolution, anger management and other
challenges. Two participants explained that life skills training has been integrated into the preemployment programs for social assistance recipients that are delivered at their agencies.
B. Placement
Participants who currently work as job developers also shared advice for preparing job seekers to “close
the deal” when networking, interviewing and negotiating offers with employers. While advice
regarding appropriate interview attire, grooming, etiquette, punctuality and other tips on making the
most professional impression possible may seem self-evident to some of us, job seekers who have been
out of work for a long time often benefit from specific guidance and reminders regarding selfpresentation.
One job developer present at the focus group shared that she sometimes accompanied her job seeker
clients to interviews with employers, helping to showcase her candidate’s selling points and facilitate
effective communication with the employer, since some job seekers, even after attending interview
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workshops or coaching sessions with an employment counsellor, are still intimidated and overwhelmed
by the prospect of face-to-face meetings with employers.
Another participating job developer addressed the issue of workplace accommodations or adaptations
for job seekers with disabilities or special needs. She emphasized the importance and usefulness of
making the employer fully aware of the candidate’s needs up front and in advance of actual placement
with the company, so that the employer can ensure that supports are already in place for the new
employee when they start working.
For employers who are unsure about whether they have the internal resources to provide
accommodation for a particular candidate, having this discussion early on in the hiring process provides
staffing agency consultants and job developers with the chance to help the employer assess the
feasibility of putting the required supports in place and to gain assistance with this by benefiting from
the expertise of specialists such as adaptive technology centres or disability-specific service providers.
By the employer and service provider confirming that accommodations are in place in advance of the
candidate’s start date, this can also reassure the employee that their new workplace is accessible and
that they will be able to perform their duties without obstacles.
C. Post-Employment
While life skills training, skills enhancement programs and putting holistic supports in place all have a
useful role at the pre-employment stage, they can also be provided post-hire to continue to support job
retention. Sometimes issues that did not arise during an individual’s job search may emerge after they
have secured employment.
For example, a job seeker who had been sober during their search for employment may find that, once
they start their new job, the stress of adapting to a new schedule and environment triggers their
addictive behaviours. These individuals could benefit from their employment counsellor, job developer
or caseworker referring them to support groups or other relapse prevention programs to help them
cope with change and stress without re-activating addictive behaviours.
Similarly, while someone may have arrived at job fairs, interviews and other appointments on time
when job searching, they might find themselves running late to work once they are expected to arrive
early in the morning each day, since this sudden and significant change in schedule may challenge their
time management skills. This individual might benefit from attending a time management workshop or
similar life skills training after work to learn how to stick to a schedule.
While interventions like these can take place outside of work hours, post-employment supports can
also be delivered on-site at the workplace, either by the employer or in partnership with a third party
provider such as a staffing agency, community service agency or private contractor. For example, while
many newcomers to Canada who do not speak French or English as a first language have worked
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diligently to improve their language proficiency, and have demonstrated this successfully in job
interviews, they may face challenges with workplace communication, rather than language, at their
new jobs.
Although their grammar and vocabulary in English or French may be exceptional, some newcomers
may be unfamiliar with norms and expectations regarding communication with co-workers and
supervisors, non-verbal cues and other facets of interacting with others in the Canadian workplace.
Some of our participants provided examples of employers engaging workplace communication
coaches, either through a non-profit sector agency or a private firm, to offer on-site support to
newcomer employees, integrating this coaching into their work day so that they can benefit from
immediate feedback and opportunities for practice and reflection.
Earlier in this report, we also reviewed examples shared by our participants of on-the-job mentorship,
peer networking and other supportive onboarding interventions that can be delivered on- or off-site.
For individuals returning to work after an extended absence from the labour market, and indeed for
many other new hires, these interventions can also prove helpful beyond the short-term time frame
implied by the term “onboarding.” For example, as our participants noted, on-the-job mentoring can be
valuable not only for providing new employees with an orientation to the workplace and its culture, but
can also help them develop strategies for their ongoing career development and growth within the
company.
Additionally, our participants agreed that peer support is vital to employee success over both the short
and long term, helping new hires to feel welcome while keeping longer-serving employees engaged
and motivated. For individuals returning to the labour market after an extended period of time, who
may have experienced feelings of isolation compounded by long-term unemployment, peer support
can prove even more relevant and impactful.
3. What are the core skills and behaviours that support people to succeed at work?
Our participants shared what they have heard most often from employers in terms of the skills and
behaviours demonstrated by top-performing candidates and employees. Here is a word cloud that
reflects the skills most frequently cited by our participants:
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4. How do we coach people to develop these skills and behaviours? Do we provide this coaching
at the pre or post employment stage?
1. Peer Support
As one participant emphasized, “groups are more powerful; they bond people.” Programs such as preemployment skills training, job search workshops, bridging programs and other similar services provide
job seekers with structured and intensive opportunities to benefit from peer support. Participants also
agreed that positive attitudes and behaviours can be modeled and reinforced quite effectively on a
peer-to-peer basis. For example, these spaces often help job seekers to improve their communication
skills, since learning how to get along with a diverse group of fellow trainees in a pre-employment skills
training program can provide excellent practice for managing relationships with future colleagues.
One of the participants working in a pre-employment program also explained how she facilitates
collective problem-solving and the sharing of successes among participants. For instance, if a
participant has a concern about being drawn into gossip by co-workers at their next job, since this has
happened to them in previous jobs, other participants would encouraged to share how they’ve handled
similar situations, including what worked for them and what didn’t. Together, the group could then
brainstorm how to politely and effectively rebuff invitations to gossip.
A few of our participants expressed regret about the widespread defunding of job finding clubs during
the introduction of Employment Ontario. Job finding clubs, often organized and hosted by
employment service providers, engaged participants in structured and consistent job search activity.
Participants would gather each day in a computer lab, workshop room or employment resource centre
to complete individual job search-related tasks like cold calling, preparing resumes and conducting
internet research. While working on their own job search, participants were also encouraged to
exchange information and provide assistance and support to one another, and agency staff would
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deliver periodic workshops along with offering individual coaching to participants. Our participants
agreed that this combination of individual and group support often proved particularly effective.
As we have noted earlier, peer support is just as if not more critical at the post-employment stage than
it is at pre-employment. Once job seekers secure employment, they must then forge a whole new
series of relationships at work, which can be daunting for myriad reasons. Throughout our discussion,
participants strongly advocated for peer support groups for new hires, convened either at the
workplace or off-site. Ideally, such groups would be moderated by an employment service provider who
could encourage new hires to share their challenges, concerns and successes with the group,
generating a safe space for some initial venting followed by a solution-focused discussion. Facilitators
could also invite guest speakers to share information with new hires on topics like health and safety,
how to prepare for performance reviews, resolving conflict with co-workers and other practical
subjects.
2. Professionalism and Productive Behaviour: Practice Helps
Our participants agreed that, to prepare for success at work, it’s great to get a head start by practicing
professionalism and productive behaviours while still job searching. One of the participants expressed
surprise and dismay that a few of her own previous employees had apparently not learned some of the
basics of professional behaviour, like appropriate social media use and recording suitable outgoing
messages, before joining her organization. Cases like these point to how helpful it is for job seekers to
learn these behaviours in advance.
Guidance on professionalism at work can be offered to job seekers through workshops delivered by
employment service providers. For instance, sessions on Workplace Communication Skills often cover
relevant topics like how to give and receive feedback, voice mail etiquette, appropriate tone when
composing e-mails, and other valuable insights on making a positive impression on and building
rapport with colleagues and supervisors.
Beyond workshops, our participants agreed that it’s often even more useful for job seekers to gain
actual day-to-day experience in a professional environment while continuing to look for work,
especially if they are new to the Canadian labour market or have been out of the workforce for an
extended period of time. Strategies for gaining this experience can include volunteer work, paid
internships through innovative programs like Career Edge, co-op placements and other opportunities
for experiential learning in a real work environment.
Some participants expressed regret about the elimination of practice firms shortly after the inception of
Employment Ontario, since practice firms had provided another route for job seekers to gain relevant
work experience related their field along with professional references and skills upgrading.
3. Focal Points for Post-Employment Coaching
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As noted earlier in this report, our participants agreed on the value of post-employment coaching,
provided individually and in group environments, and recommended a wide range of areas that this
coaching could tackle, including the cultivation of desirable skills and behaviours like those included in
the word cloud above.
A number of these skills and qualities could be grouped under the category of “assertiveness.” One of
the job developers at our focus group shared that a common concern brought to her by employers
regarded the apparent hesitancy of many new hires to take initiative or to ask for help on the job. She
explained that this sometimes stemmed partly from a challenge with cross-cultural communication and
discussed issues faced by some newcomers to Canada whose previous work experience has been within
very hierarchical cultural and organizational contexts. For these workers, making a suggestion or
solving a problem without waiting to be instructed to do so can seem like insubordination, whereas to
many employers here, that concern about causing offence can often be misconstrued as a lack of drive
or interest.
This participant used this example to reinforce the benefits of on-the-job coaching for employers, not
only employees, particularly with respect to diversity and cross-cultural competency, since a lack of
understanding in these vital areas can easily cause breakdowns in communication.
5. How do we work with employers to support the successful integration and performance of new
hires, and what level of support from employers is realistic to expect?
Since many of our participants have worked with employment service providers, they spoke about their
direct experiences of working with employers to put supports in place for newly hired job seekers.
As a vital element of building effective employer relationships, our participants stressed the importance
of setting clear and realistic expectations with employers about their role and investment in
onboarding, aiming to optimize supports for new hires without instituting practices that are too costly,
onerous or time-consuming. This is where service providers can play a more active role in providing or
assisting with components of onboarding, such as the cultivation of peer networks and workplace
communication coaching, that employers may find too cumbersome to manage themselves or may
lack in-house expertise to deliver.
Ultimately, each employer has specific priorities when onboarding new employees, which is why our
participants agreed that a needs assessment conducted through a consultative approach is typically the
first step to ensuring that post-hire supports are successful, and is an essential element to cultivating
and strengthening the overall relationship with the employer.
One participant explained that a “consultative approach” involves asking an employer about their core
business needs and challenges, and offering a suite of targeted solutions in response. For example,
after a company has hired large numbers of recent graduates, management may have observed that
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many of these employees lack experience and are therefore unfamiliar with basic expectations
regarding punctuality, timely responses to messages and other workplace norms.
In this case, the service provider can offer supports such as on-site or after-hours time management
training for new hires, one-to-one coaching for individual employees with pronounced difficulties in
adapting to the workplace, or interactive webinars on workplace norms and expectations. Depending
on the capacity and interest of the employer, the service provider could take the lead in providing these
supports or offer them in collaboration with the employer’s own human resources personnel.
A couple of participants pointed out that many employers prefer a collaborative or blended approach to
delivering these supports, with staff from the employer and service provider working together to offer
post-hire assistance that can be embedded as seamlessly as possible into the employer’s existing
onboarding, HR and performance management processes. For example, although some service
providers do offer on-the-job coaching and mentoring of new hires delivered by agency staff, many
employers prefer that their own supervisors, team leads or senior employees assume this role, and are
willing to invest the extra staff hours and resources required to make this happen. By taking ownership
of the on-the-job coaching component, employers are also providing their mid-level personnel with
opportunities to strengthen their people management skills while giving new hires a more
comprehensive and customized orientation to the company than could usually be offered by an outside
service provider.
One participant emphasized that embedding stronger post-hire supports into employers’ existing
practices hinged upon introducing these supports as “systematic and simple solutions.” As she
explained, employers are generally more receptive to including new supports as enhancements to
current systems, rather than creating whole new layers of activity which could be perceived as onerous,
costly or duplicative.
Ultimately, our participants agreed that a consultative and customized approach is optimal when
assisting employers to resolve costly and disruptive workplace issues while helping employees to
succeed at work.
6. How do we work with employers and new hires to resolve issues that can arise on the job?
Several of our participants who have worked with employment service providers shared experiences of
stepping in to resolve issues that have occurred after placing job seekers with employers. Participants
agreed on the importance of negotiating this type of role with the employer and job seeker beforehand,
clarifying how and when it would be appropriate for the service provider to intervene.
For example, if the job seeker engages in particularly egregious behaviour, such as assaulting a coworker, the employer may feel quite confident in disciplining or terminating the employee without
needing or wanting the service provider to mediate or be involved in this process. However, with
respect to other workplace issues, such as frequent tardiness, the employer may ask the service
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provider to help with assessing this new hire’s situation and determining whether referrals to other
services may be required to support this employee with arriving to work on time.
Similarly, new hires themselves may have a range of preferences regarding how and when they would
appreciate assistance from service providers with resolving issues at work, often depending on the issue
that has arisen. For example, if the issue is a misunderstanding between the new hire and their coworker, they may want to resolve it between themselves rather than risk “making too big a deal out of
it” by involving a third party. Alternatively, if the issue is a potential human rights violation on the part
of the employer, the new hire may feel unsafe and want to access support outside of their workplace to
figure out how to handle the situation.
Ultimately, participants agreed on the usefulness of service providers engaging in these conversations
with employers and job seekers about how and when it makes sense for them to get involved in issue
resolution. Of course, not all potential types of issues can be anticipated, so the service provider always
has to use their own judgement and check in with all parties involved when any type of challenge arises.
Participants emphasized that timely resolution is another important ingredient for successfully
resolving challenges at work. Whenever possible, rather than letting issues fester or escalate, it’s
usually best to deal with issues as they come up. Of course, since the service provider is typically not
present when the problem first occurs, it is imperative for employment counsellors and job developers
to build trust with employers and new hires in the service provider’s ability to provide practical and
effective assistance should issues arise. Key to building this trust is the collaborative and consultative
approach referred to earlier in our discussion, whereby service providers demonstrate knowledge,
resourcefulness and expertise relevant to the employer’s specific needs.
Also, rather than waiting to be notified by employers or job seekers when problems occur, service
providers must follow up frequently with both parties, albeit in a non-threatening and approachable
way. Gentle and supportive check-ins, starting with open-ended questions about how things are going,
can help set a friendly and consultative tone, as opposed to opening the conversation with direct
questions like “having any problems adjusting to your new job?” that can put people on the spot, often
eliciting an unhelpful and defensive response.
In terms of techniques for resolving these issues, participants cited mediation as a common request
from both employers and job seekers. Our focus group agreed that miscommunication tends to be the
number one issue arising in the workplace and once they are able to help employers and job seekers
understand where each person is coming from, our participants tend to be successful in resolving
disputes that are often based on misunderstandings rather than genuine or fundamental
disagreements.
Participants also shared that, when working with employers who lack HR capacity or are new to
managing people, they have helped to develop essential resources like training plans, employee
orientations and performance review frameworks. These tools support the employer and job seeker to
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have clear expectations regarding job duties, performance requirements, health and safety
responsibilities and other vital information, thereby helping to prevent the types of miscommunications
that can adversely impact the workplace. Along with developing these resources and tools, participants
shared that they have sometimes been invited by employers to participate directly in processes like
goal-setting for new hires and performance reviews, observing along with providing guidance and
feedback.
7. The phrase ‘career laddering’ seems to be used more frequently these days in the employment
and training sector. What do we mean by career laddering, and how can we work most
effectively with employers, training providers and other partners to support individuals’ longerterm career goals?
Without exception, our participants agreed that the term ‘career laddering’ is problematic. To begin
with, several participants argued that the term ‘laddering,’ with its implied focus on exclusively vertical
career progression, is limited and out of date. Instead, the group favoured “career development,”
“lifelong learning” and other language that provides for a more inclusive, accurate and contemporary
understanding of career progression, acknowledging the value and learning gained from lateral
movement, continuous education (either institutional, on-the-job or self-directed) and other non-linear,
experiential and iterative developmental activities.
Discussion then turned to how to support positive career progression in these myriad forms.
Suggestions included types of activities that we have explored earlier in our discussion for their
potential to support on-the-job success. The difference here is that, rather than being time-limited to a
relatively short-term period of onboarding, or to only the first year of employment, these activities
could be extended and enriched to support longer-term career development:
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Longer-term individual mentoring, cross-functional projects and job shadowing, and
opportunities for internal networking
Hackathons; dedicated hours per week for innovative, “blue sky” thinking
Succession planning (potentially including monetary and other incentives for professional
development, opportunities for stretch assignments and other levers)
Individual employee budgets for training and professional development
Clear goal-setting and consistent performance reviews
Team training opportunities organized by human resources personnel and based on
comprehensive assessments of employee strengths and skill gaps
Skill-building opportunities through volunteer work and other forms of community engagement
Conclusion
According to the Canadian Occupational Projection System – Macroeconomic Scenario 2011-2010
report published online by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), “slower population
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growth and population aging” will exacerbate the difficulties that employers already face in fulfilling
their recruitment needs, which means that retaining their existing workers will become even more
integral to productivity and profitability.
Our focus group identified practical and tested strategies for strengthening job retention and
supporting career progression. Implementation of these solutions depends on the ability and
willingness of employers, employees and other partners like service providers, staffing agencies,
unions, regulatory bodies and industry associations to work together more closely and effectively to
build and cultivate successful workplaces.
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