University of Ottawa's Linda Manning, left, and Kristina Schneider of Documedia Inc. (Darren Brown, OBJ)

U of O professor leads program to leverage immigrant skills

Two employees work at their desks when a company-wide e-mail arrives in their inboxes, advertising a management-level job opening.

The first employee, a Canadian, reads the posting and decides he's got nothing to lose by applying, and fires off his resume. But the second employee, a recent immigrant, notices the job posting was sent to the entire company and doesn't immediately see it as relevant. Besides, in his experience at companies with a top-down management style, employees often don't see themselves as individuals seeking their own rewards.

"We take it for granted that once the opportunity is there, just take it. But many cultures don't see it that way," says Linda Manning, a social sciences professor at the University of Ottawa. "The organization might be missing some really top-quality people who don't even apply."

But Ms. Manning is trying to change that. She's leading a three-year project to develop a set of electronic training modules to help employers in small and medium-sized companies ensure the best people, regardless of cultural background, advance into management and leadership positions.

Within the project, learners work their way through different scenarios such as conducting an interview, and then see the results of the decisions they've made.

In the above scenario, for example, the employer might have had better luck if she'd approached the immigrant employee directly, Ms. Manning says, to tell him he qualifies for the position and would help the company by applying for the job.

Ms. Manning emphasizes, however, that the project isn't about forcing employers to change their practices; instead it takes into account the cultural differences amongst employees.

Put another way, employers should consider the starting point and mindset of individual employees, focusing on articulating the values they hold important, suggests Alice Kubicek. She's managing director of the Ottawa-based management consultant firm akpsGlobal.

"If they are making the commitment to hire the individual, they have to follow up ... by understanding what the individual needs to become part of the mainstream (at the organization)," she says.

"It is more than just a tour of the facilities."

In the project's first year-and-a-half, Ms. Manning has facilitated a series of focus groups with human resource professionals, including Ms. Kubicek, and immigrant groups to discuss the challenges faced by employers and immigrant employees.

The next stage of the project, titled 'Leveraging Immigrant Skills to Strengthen Canadian Business,' is to develop the content for the learning scenarios.

The online 'experiential simulation' program will include between 12 and 18 learning 'capsules' that will take no more than a half-hour to complete, says Kristina Schneider, director of blended learning strategies at Documedia Inc. and manager of the training module's production.

Ms. Schneider says the aim is to have learners understand the implications of their decisions without being told that a particular action is right or wrong.

While the goal of the project may be to help employers identify employees with the most potential, Bruce Switzer, president of Integration Resources Canada, says its implications could be much more far-reaching.

"When I first read about the project, I got goosebumps. It is a shift in management style ... that has the potential to make the Canadian workplace a positive, healthy environment.

"It's a shift in the perception of ourselves."

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THE 'STICKY FLOOR'

Unlike the 'glass ceiling,' where employees can see the top, but are blocked by an invisible barrier, immigrants are often held back from advancing in their career by a 'sticky floor,' says the University of Ottawa's Linda Manning. Once inside a company, they are unable to gain the experience they need to move up the corporate ladder. She says they often can't even reach the first step.

"Their feet are stuck to the floor," says Ms. Manning.