'I was always taught that when you look somebody in the eye when speaking with them, if they're senior, that's an insult'
With thousands of immigrant workers coming into Canada every year, employers have an opportunity to boost multiculturalism among their workers.
If they do this right, it can be a competitive advantage, said Shai Dubey, professor at Smith School of Business, in talking with HRD Canada.
“For those companies who are looking to go global or are expanding into international markets, you have the skill sets right here to be successful going into another market. Many companies going into other markets [are] trying to export the way they do business in their home country, and it doesn't work very well. So we don't have to go anywhere to pick up that knowledge because we have the people here that can help.”
Currently, Ottawa is looking to provide 465,000 immigrants with permanent residency status throughout 2023. That target will jump to 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025.
Adapting to change
However, when immigrants come into a new culture, they go through a lot of changes. And employers must be aware of this, said Dubey.
“Change is always a difficult thing to do,” he said, citing his own experience as an example.
Being an immigrant from India, Dubey brought with him traits that were the norm in his native land. When he was practicing law at Bay Street, his assistant pointed out to him that partners and clients were talking about how Dubey would not look them in the eye when he talked to them.
“Here's the thing for me: Growing up, I was always taught [that] when you look somebody in the eye when you're speaking to them, if they're senior, that's an insult.”
When you come from another country, you’re trying to figure out what's OK and what's not OK, he said.
“For the people here, we expect certain things to happen at certain times. People will behave in certain ways, and when they don't do that… some people can make attributions as to what that means for this person.”
When it comes to immigrants, one of the things employers and HR leaders must focus on is cross-cultural communication.
“In North America and Canada, for the most part, if you ask an employee to do something and they say, ‘Yes,’ that means that they're going to do it,” said Dubey. “In other parts of the world, when you ask an employee to do something and they say ‘Yes,’ it may not mean they're going to do it. It may mean ‘I understood what you said’ and that they didn't agree to do that.”
In December, Ottawa said a non-profit organization in southwest Ontario will be receiving over $3.6 million in funding to boost support for temporary migrant workers. It also announced it is enhancing the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) to bring 2,000 skilled workers into the country and fill jobs in health care, skilled trades and information technology.
Best practices
To ensure employers can tap into the power of multiculturalism, Dubey suggested that they start by looking into their hiring practices. And it begins with HR professionals asking themselves: “Are we asking the right questions to bring that talent in?” he said.
They are looking for certain skill sets, but they may be asking the question in a way that doesn't make sense, said Dubey.
“We may actually be excluding talent that would be helpful to us. HR professionals really need to rethink: ‘What are we trying to achieve with the questions we're asking them? Are there different ways to get to that result? And how are we cutting people out?’”
More than eight in 10 (81%) of employees would leave their current company if their DEI policies weren’t up to scratch, according to a previous report from GoodHire.
Secondly, HR must create the appropriate type of environment for the immigrants they hire, said Dubey.
“Help those that are managing to understand that [if] there are differences, [they have] to have an open communication. If you see something that's different, do not label somebody, stereotype somebody. [Make sure they have] a place to come and talk.”
Secondly, they must “make managers understand that the difference may be arising from a cultural difference as opposed to somebody trying to be different”.
They must also make managers realize that they’re “dealing with human beings.”
“The people that are working for you came here [because] they want a better life, they want to be successful. You want to be successful. You have the same end goal.”
