Two facts sum up the issue of managing cultural diversity in companies. The first: Québec’s population is aging. One of the consequences of this is that 1.4 million jobs will need to be filled in the province by 2021. Over 17% of these jobs should be filled by recent immigrants.1 Greater Montréal is a major job pool for the province and is noted for its multiculturalism, with 85% of the Québec population born abroad living here.2
Second fact: at a time when the business environment is changing because of a global economy, cultures and consumer tastes, business growth is intricately tied to the talent it attracts. Immigration is the source of a great deal of talent and of new technical and cultural skills, allowing businesses to distinguish and position themselves in a highly competitive global market.
This reality raises the following question: how well do companies effectively manage diversity? To answer this, Emploi-Québec has come up with the Guide pratique de la gestion de la diversité interculturelle en emploi3, working with companies that include BNP Paribas Canada and the Ritz-Carlton Montréal.
Why you should read this guide
For its definition of diversity management. According to the guide, diversity management is the organizational and legal means companies use to adapt to the job market and manage human resources (shortages, labour immigration, An Act Respecting Equal Access to Employment in Public Bodies).4
For its DIVERSImètre diagnosis tool. This self-evaluation test provides a framework for thinking about the company’s current situation. The questionnaire addresses every aspect of a company’s operations and structure. It has six parts: strategy and leadership; organizational culture; intercultural skills; recruitment and selection processes; intake and integration; retention. Each section has five statements. At the end of the test, the company is positioned in one of three ways: with an insufficient, satisfactory or excellent approach to and development of diversity management.
Access the Guide (only in French)
Test p.10
No need to panic if the results are not what you had hoped for. The guide goes through each section of the questionnaire and breaks it down into practical tools and information, emphasizing that attracting immigrants to your company is not enough; you have to know how to integrate and retain them too. It is a worthwhile read for any company.
[1] http://acclr.ccmm.ca/~/media/Files/Metropole/Interconnexion/Cahier_Immigration_def.pdf(in French)
[2] https://mcc.gouv.qc.ca/index.php?id=1490 (in French)
[3] http://www.emploiquebec.gouv.qc.ca/uploads/tx_fceqpubform/06_emp_guidediversite.pdf (in French)
[4] idem (in French)